Undergraduate Courses

In addition to courses offered by the Jewish Studies program (JUDS), relevant classes are offered in many different disciplines at UNL. Students pursuing a minor in Jewish Studies may select courses from any of the tabs below.

JEWISH STUDIES (JUDS)

JUDS 205 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (3 credits)

Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in translation. History, culture and religion of Ancient Israel as it is reflected in the biblical books and the archeological record. (Cross-listed as RELG 205)

JUDS 209 Judaism and Christianity in Conflict and Coexistence (3 credits)

The history of Jewish-Christian relations from the birth of Christianity until the present. Readings from primary and secondary sources as written by Jewish and Christian authors. (Cross-listed as RELG 209)

JUDS 217 Israel: The Holy Land (3 credits)

Survey of the history of the Land of Israel from Biblical times to the present. Includes Roman and Byzantine rule, the Crusades, Islamic Palestine, Zionism and the modern state of Israel, and the religious importance of the land for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. (Cross-listed as RELG 217 and HIST 217)

JUDS 219 Introduction to Jewish History (3 credits)

Survey of the history of the Jewish people from Biblical times to the present. The Old Testament, Ancient Israel, the Talmud, the relationship to Christianity and Islam, persecution and self-government in the middle ages, Jewish philosophy and mysticism, emancipation, modern anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, Zionism, the modern state of Israel, and the Jewish experience in America. (Cross-listed as RELG 219 and HIST 219)

JUDS 245J Jewish-American Fiction (3 credits)

Twentieth and twenty-first century literature by major Jewish-American authors. (Cross-listed as ENGL 245J)

JUDS 308 Dead Sea Scrolls (3 credits)

Dead Sea Scrolls, including the history and thought of the Qumran inhabitants, the archaeology of Qumran, and the corpus of the Scrolls. Concentration on the reading of selected primary texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls. (Cross-listed as RELG 308)

JUDS 331 Ancient Israel (3 credits)

The cultural, social, and religious institutions of Ancient Israel from their antecedents in the Late Bronze Age until the Great Jewish Revolt and the beginning of Rabbinic Judaism. Literary works and material remains of the Israelites, and evidence from surrounding cultures. (Cross-listed as CLAS 331, RELG 331, and HIST 331)

JUDS 332 Jews in the Middle Ages (3 credits)

Traces the emergence and development of a distinctive Jewish culture and identity in medieval Europe and in the regions bordering the Mediterranean sea from the birth of rabbinic Judaism under the Roman empire until the seventeenth century orthodox synthesis of Talmudic learning, Kabbalah, and custom and Jewish responses to the Enlightenment. Includes interaction of Jews with majority cultures (including the development of anti-Semitism), and the impact of Jews and Jewish learning upon western culture. (Cross-listed as RELG 332 and HIST 332)

JUDS 333 Jews in the Modern World (3 credits)

Examines the history of the Jewish people since the 18th century with geographical foci on Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Emphasis on the Jewish Enlightenment, emancipation and assimilation, anti-Semitism, migration to and adaptation in America, Zionism and the modern state of Israel. (Cross-listed as HIST 333)

JUDS 334 Jews, Christians and the Bible (3 credits)

Jewish and Christian interpretations of the Hebrew Bible and/or Old Testament from 400 BCE to 1800 CE. Readings from the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament, the Church Fathers and the Talmud, medieval and early modern Christian and Jewish biblical commentators. (Cross-listed as RELG 334)

JUDS 339 The Holocaust (3 credits)

Europe-wide programs of persecution and genocide carried out under the auspices of the Nazi-German regime between 1933 and 1945. Focuses primarily on the Jewish dimension of the Holocaust, but also examines Nazi policies targeted against Poles, Gypsies, homosexuals, disabled Germans, and other groups. Events analyzed from the perspectives of victims, perpetrators, and bystanders. (Cross-listed as HIST 339)

JUDS 340 Women in the Biblical World (3 credits)

Role and status of women as depicted in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and the New Testament. The stories and laws concerning women found in the Bible and from extra-biblical evidence. (Cross-listed as RELG 340 and WMNS 340)

JUDS 345 European Jewish Philosophy (3 credits)

Survey of Jewish philosophy from the eighteenth century to the present. Works of Moses Mendelssohn, Hermann Cohen, Martin Buber, Emanuel Levinas, and others in relation to broad European intellectual movements such as existentialism and phenomenology. (Cross-listed as PHIL 345)

JUDS 350 Literature of Judaism (3 credits)

Examination of some principal texts in Jewish religion and philosophy from Biblical times to the 18th Century Enlightenment. The Hebrew Bible, and different approaches to it, as well as portions of the Talmud and the formation of rabbinic Judaism. Writings by philosophers including Maimonides, Saadia, and others, along with narratives, poetry and legends from the 17th and 18th Centuries, which saw the development of Hasidism as well as the emergence of rationalist philosophies.

JUDS 398 Special Topics in Judaic Studies (3 credits)

Instructors and topics vary. See current semester listings. All are pre-approved for the minor.

JUDS 406 Second Temple Judaism (3 credits)

An in-depth study of the literature, history and culture of Judea and the Jews in the Second Temple period, from 550 BCE to 70 CE. Readings include apocalyptic texts, Wisdom literature, and selections from the Dead Sea Scrolls. (Cross-listed as RELG 406)

JUDS 434 Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict (3 credits)

Traces the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict from the 19th century up to the present. Explores the role of ideology, political actors, social history, economic and infrastructural problems, and regional and international interaction, as well as prospects for peace in the 21st century. Examines the related historiographical debates, especially those focusing on the Arab-Israeli Wars of 1948 and 1967. (Cross-listed as HIST 434)

JUDS 476 Ethnic Conflict and Identity (3 credits)

Theories of nationalism and ethnic conflict. Case studies of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The post-Cold War era as multi-polar and multi-civilizational. The states and different cultures that compete for influence and authority to dominate the "New World order." The division of the world along ethnic, religious, and class lines rather than by ideology. The future of international politics and the reassessment of the causes of "conflicts of culture" and their containment. (Cross-listed as POLS 476)

JUDS 477 Israel and the Middle East (3 credits)

Israeli politics, society, and relations with its neighbors, particularly the Palestinians. Rise of Zionism and the Palestinian response to it; wars between Israel and Arab neighbors, and the eventual peace agreements between the two; the internal dynamics of Israeli political life; and state of Zionism today. (Cross-listed as POLS 477)

HEBREW LANGUAGE (HEBR)

HEBR 101 Elementary Biblical Hebrew (3 credits)

Fundamentals of grammar; reading and writing of simple Biblical Hebrew.

HEBR 102 Elementary Biblical Hebrew II (3 credits)

Reinforcement of grammar and vocabulary. Reading of selected biblical passages.

HEBR 301 Biblical Hebrew Prose (3 credits)

Intensive and extensive reading of Biblical Hebrew prose texts. Review of grammar.

HEBR 302 Biblical Hebrew Poetry (3 credits)

Intensive and extensive reading of Biblical Hebrew poetry texts. Review of grammar.

HEBR 399 Independent Study in Biblical Hebrew (1-3 credits)

Independent study under faculty supervision. Prereq: Permission of instructor.

CLASSICS (CLAS)

CLAS 209 Ancient Greece (3 credits)

From the Stone Age until the Roman conquest (2nd century BC). The rise and fall of the city-state, types of government, relations with foreign peoples, class and gender issues, military matters and religion. (Cross-listed as HIST 209)

CLAS 331 Ancient Israel (3 credits)

The cultural, social, and religious institutions of Ancient Israel from their antecedents in the Late Bronze Age until the Great Jewish Revolt and the beginning of Rabbinic Judaism. Literary works and material remains of the Israelites, and evidence from surrounding cultures. (Cross-listed as JUDS 331, RELG 331, and HIST 331)

CLAS 409 Religion of Late Western Antiquity (3 credits)

Examination of the religious institutions, philosophies, and lifeways of the Hellenistic Age from Alexander to Constantine. Includes civic religion of Greece and Rome, popular religion, mystery cults, Judaism, Christianity, popular and school philosophies (Platonism, Aristotelianism, Epicureanism, Cynicism, Stoicism), Gnosticism. History, interrelationships, emerging world view of these movements. (Cross-listed as HIST 409 and RELG 409)

ENGLISH (ENGL)

ENGL 245J Jewish-American Fiction (3 credits)

Twentieth and twenty-first century literature by major Jewish-American authors. (Cross-listed as JUDS 245J)

ENGL 341 The Bible as Literature (3 credits)

Introduction to the literary analysis of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures with emphasis on their influence on British and American literature.

ENGL 462A Ideas of Ethnicity in Medieval Literature (3 credits)

Medieval and Renaissance literary texts that involve encounters between different religions and cultures. Readings from chronicles, romances, travel writings, debates, and epics.

HISTORY (HIST)

HIST 209 Ancient Greece (3 credits)

From the Stone Age until the Roman conquest (2nd century BC). The rise and fall of the city-state, types of government, relations with foreign peoples, class and gender issues, military matters and religion. (Cross-listed as CLAS 209)

HIST 217 Israel: The Holy Land (3 credits)

Survey of the history of the Land of Israel from Biblical times to the present. Includes Roman and Byzantine rule, the Crusades, Islamic Palestine, Zionism and the modern state of Israel, and the religious importance of the land for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. (Cross-listed as RELG 217 and JUDS 217)

HIST 219 Introduction to Jewish History (3 credits)

Survey of the history of the Jewish people from Biblical times to the present. The Old Testament, Ancient Israel, the Talmud, the relationship to Christianity and Islam, persecution and self-government in the middle ages, Jewish philosophy and mysticism, emancipation, modern anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, Zionism, the modern state of Israel, and the Jewish experience in America. (Cross-listed as RELG 219 and JUDS 219)

HIST 331 Ancient Israel (3 credits)

The cultural, social, and religious institutions of Ancient Israel from their antecedents in the Late Bronze Age until the Great Jewish Revolt and the beginning of Rabbinic Judaism. Literary works and material remains of the Israelites, and evidence from surrounding cultures. (Cross-listed as CLAS 331, RELG 331, and JUDS 331)

HIST 332 Jews in the Middle Ages (3 credits)

Traces the emergence and development of a distinctive Jewish culture and identity in medieval Europe and in the regions bordering the Mediterranean sea from the birth of rabbinic Judaism under the Roman empire until the seventeenth century orthodox synthesis of Talmudic learning, Kabbalah, and custom and Jewish responses to the Enlightenment. Includes interaction of Jews with majority cultures (including the development of anti-Semitism), and the impact of Jews and Jewish learning upon western culture. (Cross-listed as RELG 332 and JUDS 332)

HIST 333 Jews in the Modern World (3 credits)

Examines the history of the Jewish people since the 18th century with geographical foci on Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Emphasis on the Jewish Enlightenment, emancipation and assimilation, anti-Semitism, migration to and adaptation in America, Zionism and the modern state of Israel. (Cross-listed as JUDS 333)

HIST 339 The Holocaust (3 credits)

Europe-wide programs of persecution and genocide carried out under the auspices of the Nazi-German regime between 1933 and 1945. Focuses primarily on the Jewish dimension of the Holocaust, but also examines Nazi policies targeted against Poles, Gypsies, homosexuals, disabled Germans, and other groups. Events analyzed from the perspectives of victims, perpetrators, and bystanders. (Cross-listed as JUDS 339)

HIST 434 Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict (3 credits)

Traces the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict from the 19th century up to the present. Explores the role of ideology, political actors, social history, economic and infrastructural problems, and regional and international interaction, as well as prospects for peace in the 21st century. Examines the related historiographical debates, especially those focusing on the Arab-Israeli Wars of 1948 and 1967. (Cross-listed as JUDS 434)

HIST 409 Religion of Late Western Antiquity (3 credits)

Examination of the religious institutions, philosophies, and lifeways of the Hellenistic Age from Alexander to Constantine. Includes civic religion of Greece and Rome, popular religion, mystery cults, Judaism, Christianity, popular and school philosophies (Platonism, Aristotelianism, Epicureanism, Cynicism, Stoicism), Gnosticism. History, interrelationships, emerging world view of these movements. (Cross-listed as JUDS 409 and RELG 409)

PHILOSOPHY (PHIL)

PHIL 265 Philosophy of Religion (3 credits)

Introduction to the philosophical understanding of religion. Includes a number of views on the nature of God, on the possibility of knowledge of God's existence through either argumentation or religious experience, and on the relation between religion and morality.

PHIL 332 Spinoza (3 credits)

Philosophy of Spinoza, focusing on his principal work, the Ethics. Various metaphysical and epistemological aspects of Spinoza's thought, including his ideas on the nature and existence of God, the relation between mind and body, and relations between language, truth and reason.

PHIL 345 European Jewish Philosophy (3 credits)

Survey of Jewish philosophy from the eighteenth century to the present. Works of Moses Mendelssohn, Hermann Cohen, Martin Buber, Emanuel Levinas, and others in relation to broad European intellectual movements such as existentialism and phenomenology. (Cross-listed as PHIL 345)

POLITICAL SCIENCE (POLS)

POLS 476 Ethnic Conflict and Identity (3 credits)

Theories of nationalism and ethnic conflict. Case studies of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The post-Cold War era as multi-polar and multi-civilizational. The states and different cultures that compete for influence and authority to dominate the "New World order." The division of the world along ethnic, religious, and class lines rather than by ideology. The future of international politics and the reassessment of the causes of "conflicts of culture" and their containment. (Cross-listed as JUDS 476)

POLS 477 Israel and the Middle East (3 credits)

Israeli politics, society, and relations with its neighbors, particularly the Palestinians. Rise of Zionism and the Palestinian response to it; wars between Israel and Arab neighbors, and the eventual peace agreements between the two; the internal dynamics of Israeli political life; and state of Zionism today. (Cross-listed as JUDS 477)

RELIGIOUS STUDIES (RELG)

RELG 181 Judaism, Christianity & Islam (3 credits)

A comparative study of the three great monotheistic faiths, from their historic beginnings to their present-day manifestations.

RELG 205 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (3 credits)

Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in translation. History, culture and religion of Ancient Israel as it is reflected in the biblical books and the archeological record. (Cross-listed as JUDS 205)

RELG 206 Ways of Western Religion (3 credits)

Introduction to the nature and range of religious traditions in western culture from the Bronze Age to the present as seen through selected primary religious texts. Nature of religion and religious tradition, how these function to shape our view of self and society, and how religion functions to render human experience interpretable and significant.

RELG 209 Judaism and Christianity in Conflict and Coexistence (3 credits)

The history of Jewish-Christian relations from the birth of Christianity until the present. Readings from primary and secondary sources as written by Jewish and Christian authors. (Cross-listed as JUDS 209)

RELG 217 Israel: The Holy Land (3 credits)

Survey of the history of the Land of Israel from Biblical times to the present. Includes Roman and Byzantine rule, the Crusades, Islamic Palestine, Zionism and the modern state of Israel, and the religious importance of the land for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. (Cross-listed as JUDS 217 and HIST 217)

RELG 219 Introduction to Jewish History (3 credits)

Survey of the history of the Jewish people from Biblical times to the present. The Old Testament, Ancient Israel, the Talmud, the relationship to Christianity and Islam, persecution and self-government in the middle ages, Jewish philosophy and mysticism, emancipation, modern anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, Zionism, the modern state of Israel, and the Jewish experience in America. (Cross-listed as JUDS 219 and HIST 219)

RELG 308 Dead Sea Scrolls (3 credits)

Dead Sea Scrolls, including the history and thought of the Qumran inhabitants, the archaeology of Qumran, and the corpus of the Scrolls. Concentration on the reading of selected primary texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls. (Cross-listed as JUDS 308)

RELG 331 Ancient Israel (3 credits)

The cultural, social, and religious institutions of Ancient Israel from their antecedents in the Late Bronze Age until the Great Jewish Revolt and the beginning of Rabbinic Judaism. Literary works and material remains of the Israelites, and evidence from surrounding cultures. (Cross-listed as CLAS 331, JUDS 331, and HIST 331)

RELG 332 Jews in the Middle Ages (3 credits)

Traces the emergence and development of a distinctive Jewish culture and identity in medieval Europe and in the regions bordering the Mediterranean sea from the birth of rabbinic Judaism under the Roman empire until the seventeenth century orthodox synthesis of Talmudic learning, Kabbalah, and custom and Jewish responses to the Enlightenment. Includes interaction of Jews with majority cultures (including the development of anti-Semitism), and the impact of Jews and Jewish learning upon western culture. (Cross-listed as JUDS 332 and HIST 332)

RELG 334 Jews, Christians and the Bible (3 credits)

Jewish and Christian interpretations of the Hebrew Bible and/or Old Testament from 400 BCE to 1800 CE. Readings from the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament, the Church Fathers and the Talmud, medieval and early modern Christian and Jewish biblical commentators. (Cross-listed as JUDS 334)

RELG 340 Women in the Biblical World (3 credits)

Role and status of women as depicted in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and the New Testament. The stories and laws concerning women found in the Bible and from extra-biblical evidence. (Cross-listed as JUDS 340 and WMNS 340)

RELG 406 Second Temple Judaism (3 credits)

An in-depth study of the literature, history and culture of Judea and the Jews in the Second Temple period, from 550 BCE to 70 CE. Readings include apocalyptic texts, Wisdom literature, and selections from the Dead Sea Scrolls. (Cross-listed as JUDS 406)

RELG 409 Religion of Late Western Antiquity (3 credits)

Examination of the religious institutions, philosophies, and lifeways of the Hellenistic Age from Alexander to Constantine. Includes civic religion of Greece and Rome, popular religion, mystery cults, Judaism, Christianity, popular and school philosophies (Platonism, Aristotelianism, Epicureanism, Cynicism, Stoicism), Gnosticism. History, interrelationships, emerging world view of these movements. (Cross-listed as HIST 409 and CLAS 409)

RELG 418 Fundamentalism, Religion, and Politics (3 credits)

This course analyses the complex relationship between fundamentalism, religion, and politics. We will begin by examining a variety of theories that scholars have advanced to define and explain the phenomenon of fundamentalism. We will then examine various examples of fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism.

SOCIOLOGY (SOCI)

SOCI 217 Nationality & Race Relations (3 credits)

Concepts of race and patterns of race distribution. Impact of European expansion on ethnic relations. Types of ethnic social systems. Patterns of ethnic social interaction. Problems of minorities. Types of ethnic policies. (Cross-listed as ETHN 217)

SOCI 452 Sociology of Religion (3 credits)

Consideration of sources and nature of religion, drawing on contributions of anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, and others. Emphasis on interaction of religion and society.

WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES (WMNS) 

WMNS 340 Women in the Biblical World (3 credits)

Role and status of women as depicted in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and the New Testament. The stories and laws concerning women found in the Bible and from extra-biblical evidence. (Cross-listed as RELG 340 and JUDS 340)

UNIVERSITY HONORS PROGRAM (UHON)

Faculty affiliated with the Harris Center for Judaic Studies often teach courses through the University Honors Program ( ____ 189H or UHON 395H). Watch for listings and check with the Jewish Studies undergraduate program advisor.