L49 Arab 500 Independent Work

Prerequisites: senior standing, and permission of the instructor and the Department Chair.

Credit variable, maximum 6 units.

L49 Arab 571 Topics in Modern Arabic Literature in Translation

Modern Arabic narratives read in English translation foregrounding themes such as the conflict between tradition and modernity, civil war, poverty, alienation, religion and politics, and changing gender roles.
Same as L49 Arab 471

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: ETH EN: H

L74 HBRW 500 Independent Study

Prerequisite: senior standing, and permission of the instructor and the Department Chair.

Credit variable, maximum 6 units.

L73 Hindi 5171 Religion and Culture in South and Southeast Asia

Although it is now common to differentiate between South and Southeast Asia, historically these regions have often been conceptualized as part of a single geographical area. Known as the "(East) Indies", this area is marked by a rich history of (earlier) Hindu and Buddhist influences, as well as (later) Islamic and Christian influences. The present course will take an in-depth look at the four aforementioned religious traditions, and examine how they have shaped local forms of culture in premodern and modern times. Students will be introduced to host of phenomena in South and Southeast Asian societies, including religious worship, education, law, traditional governance, colonial governance, art, architecture, economic production, kinship, gender, and sexuality. Countries to be studied in the course include India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea.
Same as L73 Hindi 3171

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC, SD BU: ETH, IS

L75 JIMES 500 Independent Work in Jewish, Islamic and Near Eastern Studies

PREREQUISITES: SENIOR STAND AND PERMISSION OF THE CHAIR OF THE JEWISH, ISLAMIC AND NEAR EASTERN STUDIES PROGRAM.

Credit variable, maximum 6 units.

L75 JIMES 5001 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament

The Hebrew Bible is the foundational text of Judaism and Christianity. It is a complex compilation of materials, reflecting great diversity in ideology, literary expression, social and political circumstances, and theology. In this course, we shall read a significant amount of the Bible in English translation. We shall study the various approaches that have been taken by scholars in trying to understand the Bible in its historical context. We shall also study how the Bible was traditionally interpreted by Jews and Christians during the last two thousand years.
Same as L23 Re St 300

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: ETH, HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 5002 Capstone Seminar

The capstone course for Jewish, Islamic, & Near Eastern Studies majors, Arabic majors, and Hebrew majors. The course content is subject to change.
Same as L75 JIMES 4001

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 5006 Modern Jewish Writers

What is Jewish literature? While we begin with -- and return to -- the traditional question of definitions, we will take an unorthodox approach to the course. Reading beyond Bellow, Ozick and Wiesel, we will look for enlightenment in unexpected places: Egypt, Latin America, and Australia. Recent works by Philip Roth, Andre Aciman, Simone Zelitch and Terri-ann White will be supplemented by guest lectures, film, short stories and significant essays. We will focus on issues of language, memory and place. Background knowledge is not required, though it is warmly welcomed.
Same as L16 Comp Lit 306

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 5012 Biblical Law and the Origins of Western Justice

This course will explore how law developed from the earliest periods of human history and how religious ideas and social institutions shaped law. The course will also illuminate how biblical law was influenced by earlier cultures and how the ancient Israelites reshaped the law they inherited. It will further analyze the impact of biblical law on Western culture and will investigate how the law dealt with those of different social classes and ethnic groups, and we will probe how women were treated by the law.
Same as L75 JIMES 3012

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD BU: ETH, HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 501C The Jews in the Ancient World

We will trace Israelite and Jewish history from its beginnings in the biblical period (circa 1200 BCE) through the rise of rabbinic Judaism and Christianity until the birth of Islam (circa 620 CE). We will explore how Israel emerged as a distinct people and why the rise of the imperial powers tranformed the political, social, and religious institutions of ancient Israel. We will illuminate why the religion of the Bible developed into rabbinic Judaism and Christianity and how rabbinic literature and institutions were created.
Same as L75 JIMES 301C

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Art: HUM BU: BA, HUM

L75 JIMES 501M Historical Methods-Middle Eastern History

This is a small-group reading course in which students are introduced to the skills essential to the historian's craft. Emphasis will be on acquiring research skills, learning to read historical works critically, and learning to use primary and secondary sources to make a persuasive and original argument. See Course Listings for current topics. Required for history majors. Preference given to History majors; other interested students welcome.
Same as L22 History 301M

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD BU: HUM, IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 5035 Antisemitism: History, Causes, Consequences

Why do people hate other people? Why have religion, race, gender, ethnicity and so on led to sectarian violence with terrifying regularity throughout history? Focused on antisemitism from Biblical times to today, this class will grapple with those questions. Please note: L75 5035 is intended for graduate students only.
Same as L75 JIMES 3035

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: BA EN: H

L75 JIMES 5073 The Global War on Terrorism

This course presents an historical assessment of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) from the perspective of its major participants: militant Sunni Islamist jihadists, especially the Al-Qaeda network, and the nation states that oppose them, particularly the United States and its allies. The course then concludes by analyzing the current state and future of Islamist jihad and the GWOT.
Same as L22 History 3073

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 5075 Third-Level Arabic I

This course is a continuation of Intermediate Arabic II. Competence in reading, writing, speaking, listening and culture is developed through intensive exposure to classical and modern standard Arabic in its written and audiovisual forms. Prerequisite: Grade of B- or better in L49 208D or placement by examination. Note: L75 5075 is intended for graduate students only.
Same as L49 Arab 3075

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD, LS BU: HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 5085 Third-Level Arabic II

This course is a continuation of Third-Level Arabic I. The continued integration of language development will occur through reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities centered around advanced authentic material. This semester will prove critical for making the transition from modern Arabic to classical Arabic, including Qur'anic Arabic. There will also be focus on the continued development of colloquial Arabic. Prerequisite: Grade of B- or better in L49 3075 or placement by examination. Note: L75 5085 is intended for graduate students only.
Same as L49 Arab 3085

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD, LS BU: HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 5149 The Late Ottoman Middle East

This course surveys the Middle East in the late Ottoman period (essentially the 18th and 19th centuries, up to the First World War). It examines the central Ottoman state and the Ottoman provinces as they were incorporated into the world economy, and how they responded to their peripheralization in that process. Students will focus on how everyday people's lived experiences were affected by the increased monetarization of social and economic relations; changes in patterns of land tenure and agriculture; the rise of colonialism; state efforts at modernization and reform; shifts in gender relations; and debates over the relationship of religion to community and political identity.
Same as L22 History 3149

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 5150 The Middle East in the Twentieth Century

This course surveys the history of the Middle East since World War I. Major analytical themes include: colonialism; Orientalism; the formation of the regional nation-state system; the formation and political mobilization of new social classes; changing gender relations; the development of new forms of appropriation of economic surplus (oil, urban industry) in the new global economy; the role of religion; the Middle East as an arena of the Cold War; conflict in Israel/Palestine; and new conceptions of identity associated with these developments (Arabism, local patriotism, Islamism).
Same as L22 History 3150

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Art: HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 5171 Religion and Culture in South and Southeast Asia

Although it is now common to differentiate between South and Southeast Asia, historically these regions have often been conceptualized as part of a single geographical area. Known as the "(East) Indies", this area is marked by a rich history of (earlier) Hindu and Buddhist influences, as well as (later) Islamic and Christian influences. The present course will take an in-depth look at the four aforementioned religious traditions, and examine how they have shaped local forms of culture in premodern and modern times. Students will be introduced to host of phenomena in South and Southeast Asian societies, including religious worship, education, law, traditional governance, colonial governance, art, architecture, economic production, kinship, gender, and sexuality. Countries to be studied in the course include India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea.
Same as L73 Hindi 3171

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC, SD BU: ETH, IS

L75 JIMES 5183 The Jews of North Africa

This course examines the colonial and postcolonial experiences of Jews living in North Africa (mainly Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt) in the context of the region's connections with and relationships to the European powers in the 19th and 20th centuries. We will focus on how the intrusion of foreign powers disrupted and shifted long-standing relationships between Jews and their non-Jewish neighbors, particularly the Muslim populations. We will also explore changes that occurred within the Jewish community as Jews negotiated their place within the new European Imperial system and its subsequent dismantling. Students will have the opportunity to engage with European ideas of "regenerating" North African Jews living under Ottoman Rule, the changing political and social statuses of Jews throughout the French and British regions, the changing relationship between Jews and their non-Jewish neighbors, the rupture caused by both World Wars, and how Jews coped with and responded to the dismantling of European empires and the birth of nation-states in the region, including Israel.
Same as L75 JIMES 3183

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: BA, IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 5184 A Rainbow Thread: A History of Queer Identities in Judaism and Islam

The notion that gender and sexuality minorities are forbidden or simply do not exist within traditional judaism and islamic traditions is an assumption that has been questioned in recent years. For these scholars and activists, it is not up for debate whether someone can be queer and Jewish or queer and Muslim. Therefore, what follows is an exploration of how to resurrect gender non-conforming interpretations of religious texts and rediscover the spectrum of gender and sexual identities that have always existed within Judaism and Islam. The course is divided into three parts. First, we will examine the religious textual traditions of both faiths to establish the space for queer identities in both the Qur'an and Torah as well as the traditions of Hadith and Talmud. Second, we will study key communities such as medieval Iberia, the Ottoman Mediterranean, Hasidic communities in Eastern Europe, Qajar Iran, and the colonial empires of the Middle East. This survey will show the influence European christian dominance had (or did not have) on the evolution of jewish and islamic gender and sexual norms from pre-modern times through the 20th century. Finally, we will examine the 21st century by reading the memoirs of trans muslims and trans Jews in order to analyze the ways in which contemporary queer jewish and islamic individuals frame their experiences and tell their stories of faith with agency, in their own words.
Same as L75 JIMES 3184

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC, WI Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 520 Third Level Modern Hebrew I

Designed to improve proficiency in the oral and written use of modern Hebrew through reading and discussion of short stories, Israeli newspaper articles, and other selected materials. Students will also have an opportunity to discuss, in Hebrew, current events and public issues related to contemporary Israeli society. PREREQ: Grade of B- or better in L74 214D Intermediate Modern Hebrew II or placement by examination. Please note: L75 520 is intended for graduate students only.
Same as L74 HBRW 320D

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD, LS BU: HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 5211 Conversational Hebrew

Designed to focus on and strengthen oral proficiency, we will explore a variety of different topics together based on our common interests - not limited to current affairs, space travel and exploration, advances in medical technology, climate change, pandemic preparedness, economic inequality, and the future of work. With each topic, we will learn relevant vocabulary and structures and apply them in small group discussions, individual presentations, simulated interviews, and classroom debates. Students will also listen to different to Israeli news reports and documentaries in order to learn how to present at a formal level. The course is designed to simulate a variety of real-life situations, which require the balance of both rehearsal as well as improvisation. By learning Hebrew in different contexts, students will be exposed to a wide range of vocabulary and will be prepared to use the language in a variety of situations. The language of instruction is Hebrew only. PREREQ: Grade of B- or better in L74 214D Intermediate Modern Hebrew II or placement by examination. Please note: L75 5211 is intended for graduate students only.
Same as L74 HBRW 3211

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD, LS BU: HUM

L75 JIMES 5221 Topics: The Jewish Experience in Italy

This course will examine the social and political history of the Jews of Italy from the period of Italian unification through the end of the Second World War. We will look through two different prisms: first, the constant of Jews' minority status in a Catholic country at a time when Church doctrine was hostile to them and second, their changing status during significant moments in the brief history of the Italian monarchy. Under the latter rubric we will study the rehabilitation of the Jews under liberal political philosophies, their problematic relationship with Fascism, and finally the arrival of the Holocaust in Italy and efforts to defend Jews against Nazi genocide. We will approach these topics wherever possible through primary texts, including essays, memoirs, and novels. Reading knowledge of Italian is not required. Readings in English; some readings in Italian for Italian majors. Discussion in English. Prerequisite for Italian majors: Italian 307D; no prerequisite for students in other majors. Three five-page papers. PLEASE NOTE: THE L75 5221 CROSS-LISTING COURSE IS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS ONLY.
Same as L36 Ital 3221

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD BU: HUM, IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 522D Third-Level Modern Hebrew II

Designed to develop communicative skills, this course provides opportunities for students to practice the art of speaking and writing correctly, clearly, and effectively. Includes reading and discussion of selected short stories from modern Hebrew literature as well as articles from current Hebrew newspapers. Class discussions deal with literary topics as well as contemporary social and political issues related to life and institutions in Israel. PREREQ: Grade of B- or better in L74 320D Third-Level Modern Hebrew I or placement by examination. Please note: L75 522D is intended for graduate students only.
Same as L74 HBRW 322D

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD, LS BU: HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 5273 Introduction to Israel Studies

An exploration of Israel in the Jewish experience from antiquity to modernity and in the history and culture of the Middle East. Special attention will be paid to the modern state of Israel and current issues in its politics, economy, and society. L75 5273 is intended for graduate students only.
Same as L75 JIMES 3273

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 5312 Norms, Networks, and Repertoires: The Anthropology of Institutions

We live our lives in social institutions: schools, courts, offices, hospitals, churches, and so forth, each one shaped by norms or rules, in which people form networks and draw on their repertoires for social action. Anthropologists and sociologists study institutions through ethnography, the close study of everyday interactions, albeit also incorporating approaches from politics and economics, and largely shaped by the traditions of social pragmatism. We explore the theoretical and empirical dimensions of an ethnographic and pragmatist approach through readings of Goffman, Foucault, and Bourdieu, and of more recent analyses of schools, courtrooms, immigration police, science laboratories, art, and other institutions.
Same as L48 Anthro 5312

Credit 3 units.

L75 JIMES 5314 Islamic History: 1200-1800

An introduction to Islamic polities and societies from the Mongol conquests to the thirteenth century to the collapse and weakening of the colossal "gunpowder" empires of the Ottomans, Safavids and Mughals in the early eighteenth century. Broadly speaking, this course covers the Middle Period (1000-1800) of Islamic history, sandwiched between the Early and High Caliphal Periods (600-100) on the one hand and the Modern Period (1800-Present) on the other hand. Familiarity with the Early and High Caliphal periods is not assumed. The course will not be a "survey" of this period but a series of "windows" that will allow you to develop both an in-depth understanding of some key features of Islamic societies and a clear appreciation of the challenges (as well as the rewards!) that await historians of the Middle Period. Particular attention is given to the Mamluk and Ottoman Middle East, Safavid Iran and Mughal India.
Same as L22 History 314C

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Art: HUM BU: HUM, IS

L75 JIMES 5334 Crusade, Disputation, and Coexistence: Jews in Christian Europe

This course will investigate some of the major themes in the history of the Jews in Europe, from the Middle Ages to the eve of the French Revolution. Jews constituted a classic, nearly continuous minority in the premodern Christian world-a world that was not known for tolerating dissent. Or was it? One of the main purposes of the course is to investigate the phenomenon of majority/minority relations, to examine the ways in which the Jewish community interacted with and experienced European societies, cultures, and politics. We will look at the dynamics of boundary formation and cultural distinctiveness; the limits of religious and social tolerance; the periodic eruption of persecution in its social, political, and religious contexts; and the prospects for Jewish integration into various European societies during the course of the Enlightenment era.
Same as L22 History 334C

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC, SD BU: ETH, HUM, IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 535C Becoming "Modern": Emancipation, Antisemitism, and Nationalism in Modern Jewish History

This course offers a survey of the Jewish experience in the modern world by asking, at the outset, what it means to be-or to become-modern. To answer this question, we look at two broad trends that took shape toward the end of the eighteenth century-the Enlightenment and the formation of the modern state-and we track changes and developments in Jewish life down to the close of the twentieth century with analyses of the (very different) American and Israeli settings. The cultural, social, and political lives of Jews have undergone major transformations and dislocations over this time-from innovation to revolution, exclusion to integration, calamity to triumphs. The themes that we will be exploring in depth include the campaigns for and against Jewish "emancipation;" acculturation and religious reform; traditionalism and modernism in Eastern Europe; the rise of political and racial antisemitism; mass migration and the formation of American Jewry; varieties of Jewish national politics; Jewish-Gentile relations between the World Wars; the destruction of European Jewry; the emergence of a Jewish nation-state; and Jewish culture and identity since 1945.
Same as L22 History 335C

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC, SD Art: HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H UColl: HEU, HSM

L75 JIMES 536 History of the Jews in Islamic Lands

This course is a survey of Jewish communities in the Islamic world, their social, cultural, and intellectual life from the rise of Islam to the Imperial Age.Topics include: Muhammad, the Qur'an and the Jews; the legal status of Jews under Islam; the spread of Rabbinic Judaism in the Abbasid empire; the development of new Jewish identities under Islam (Karaites); Jewish traders and scholars in Fatimid Egypt; the flourishing of Jewish civilization in Muslim Spain (al-Andalus); and Sephardi (Spanish) Jews in the Ottoman empire. On this background, we will look closely at some of the major Jewish philosophical and poetical works originating in Islamic lands. Another important source to be studied will be documents from the Cairo Genizah, reflecting social history, the status of women, and other aspects of daily life.
Same as L22 History 336C

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 5400 Israeli Women Writers

Study of selected novels and shorter fiction by women. Attention to the texts as women's writing and as products of Israeli literature. No knowledge of Hebrew necessary; all readings in English translation.
Same as L74 HBRW 340

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC, SD, WI Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 541 The Jewish People in America

History of the Jews in North America from the colonial era to the present. Close reading of primary sources, with an emphasis on the central issues and tensions in American Jewish life; political, social, and economic transformations; and religious trends.
Same as L75 JIMES 341

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 5422 Art of the Islamic World

This course surveys the art and architecture of societies in which Muslims were dominant or in which they formed significant minorities from the seventh through the 20th centuries. It examines the form and function of architecture and works of art as well as the social, historical, and cultural contexts; patterns of use; and evolving meanings attributed to art by the users. The course follows a chronological order, and selected visual materials are treated along chosen themes. Themes include the creation of a distinctive visual culture in the emerging Islamic polity; the development of urban institutions; key architectural types such as the mosque, madrasa, caravanserai, palace, and mausoleum; art objects and the art of the illustrated book; cultural interconnections along trade and pilgrimage routes; and Westernization and modernization in art and architecture.
Same as L01 Art-Arch 3422

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Art: AH, GFAH, HUM BU: IS EN: H UColl: CD

L75 JIMES 5431 Core Seminar in Comparative and World History: Islam in the Medieval and Early Modern Mediterranean

The Core Seminar in Comparative and World History examines a historical institution, idea, phenomenon, or process across range of cultures and regions. Although the specific case studies will vary from year to year, topics might include: empires, urbanization, revolutions, famines, or evangelism. The seminar will be of interest to students of all historical fields seeking to develop comparative historical models to their own areas of research.
Same as L22 History 5431

Credit 4 units.

L75 JIMES 5442 Core Seminar in World History:

The course examines a historical institution, idea, phenomenon, or process across range of cultures and regions. Although the specific case studies will vary from year to year, topics might include: empires, urbanization, revolutions, famines, or evangelism. The seminar will be of interest to students of all historical fields seeking to develop comparative historical models to their own areas of research.
Same as L22 History 5442

Credit 4 units.

L75 JIMES 545 Mesopotamian Mythology: Stories from Ancient Iraq

In this course we will read, explore, and interpret various ancient myths originating from the fertile crescent, especially ancient Iraq, between the years 2500 and 400 BCE. The Epic of Gilamesh, the Enuma Elish, myths of the goddess Ishtar as well as various flood and creation accounts will be among those we read. Cultural background information will be examined to situate each myth in its ancient context. Various theories of interpreting myth will also be explored in order to appreciate the power and the many uses of these multivalent stories. Several basic questions will underlie all that we do throughout the semester: What is myth?, How should we understand the conceptualization of the category "myth" (in other words, How does myth work?), and Does myth still play a role in our own modern cultures?
Same as L75 JIMES 345

Credit 3 units. BU: HUM

L75 JIMES 546 Islamic Law

This course will present a general overview of Islamic law and an introduction to the study of religious legal authority, which values consensus. It will then explore the formation of the major schools of law. Next, it will debate the notions of "ijtihad" and "taqlid" and discuss how open and independent legal decisions have been in the Islamic world. It will also trace the transmission of legal knowledge in religious institutions across time and place by focusing on medieval Muslim societies and by closely examining the education of a modern-day Ayatollah. Note: L75 546 is intended for graduate students only.
Same as L75 JIMES 346

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: ETH EN: H

L75 JIMES 549 Yidishkayt: Yiddish Literature in English Translation

This course will trace the emergence, development, flourish, and near-decline of Yiddish literature, beginning with some of the earliest writings to appear in Yiddish in the late middle ages and early modern period, continuing with 19th-century attempts to establish a modern Yiddish literature and the 20th-century emergence of both a classical canon and a literary avant-garde, and ending with post-Holocaust attempts to retain a Yiddish literary culture in the near absence of Yiddish-speaking communities. Focusing on the role of Yiddish as the "national" language of Ashkenaz, the course will examine the ways in which Yiddish literature has responded to the social conditions of European Jewish life, exploring among others the relationship between Yiddish and the non-Jewish cultures in which it existed, the tensions between secular trends versus religious tradition, life in the shtetl and in the metropolis, immigration from the old world to the new, and Yiddish literary responses to the Holocaust.
Same as L75 JIMES 349

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Art: HUM BU: IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 550 Israeli Culture and Society

An examination of critical issues in contemporary Israeli culture and society, such as ethnicity, speech, humor, religious identity, and the Arab population, using readings in English translation from a variety of disciplines: folklore, literary criticism, political science, sociology, psychology, anthropology. Prerequisite: sophomore standing, or permission of instructor.
Same as L75 JIMES 350

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 5510 Muhammad: His Life and Legacy

This course intends to examine the life and representations of the Prophet Muhammad from the perspective of multiple spiritual sensibilities as articulated in various literary genres from medieval to modern periods. The course is divided roughly into two parts. One part deals with the history of Muhammad and the related historiographical questions. The second part deals with the representations of Muhammad in juristic, theological, Sufi, etc. literature. Because of the availability of primary sources in English translation, there will be a healthy dose of primary source reading and analysis throughout the semester. Those students with advanced Arabic (and Persian and Turkish) skills will be encouraged to engage sources in their original language.
Same as L75 JIMES 351

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC BU: ETH EN: H

L75 JIMES 5520 Subgenres and Modern Arabic Literature

Genre is a category, or to use Aristotle's term, a species. It is a category of literature, arts, music, and other forms of composition, to classify works of shared conventions, practices, and aesthetics. A typical example would be poetry. Subgenre is a single division of a given genre. In this example, epic poetry, the sonnet, haiku are subgenres of poetry. But who gets to decide what is genre, subgenre, and how? These would be some of the main questions we willl address in this course. Genre theory can teach us a fascinating history of how various cultures imagine their forms of creative expression. The development of genres and subgenres reveal complex histories on who has the power to define and redefine creative expression. For example, the novel, now a dominant and prestigious global literary genre, was once considered an inferior and working-class genre in Europe over a century ago. The novel genre then developed into numerous subgenres, which are today placed under one large umbrella that is "genre-fiction," such as sci-fi, fantasy, horror, gothic, mystery etc.. However, the borders between these subgenres and the larger genre itself are always contested and reformulated. Through the history of genre and subgenre, we get to learn about literary taste and literary criticism, and whose definitions and conventions have changed the course of literature and the arts, and for what reason. The dominance of the historical novel today, for example, is attributed to larger phenomenon such as decolonization, feminism, and anti-racism. The sociopolitical urge to utilize fiction to address larger issues has not only boosted the impact of the historical novel but "elevated" it to become a common form of the genre itself. Within this grand history, Arabic literature has a complex and rich story to tell about genre and subgenre. The most obvious example here, which will be our entry point in this course, is 1001 Nights (also known as The Nights, or The Arabian Nights). This multi-volumed masterpiece has influenced fiction writers across the globe, especially in the past three centuries as the novel began to formulate into a modern genre. It is an exceptional work where we see a cosmology of subgenres of storytelling, narrative, but also of poetry, and in some editions, illustration and drawing, as well as translation. The Nights is often seen as the first hybrid work of literature where subgenres and forms co-exist but also blur and converge. This dynamic, revolutionary, and mobile nature of The Nights expresses the meeting of various cultures, experiences, and traditions of storytelling during the Abbasid empire. Today, it remains ever more relevant and inspiring in a cosmopolitan world. The question and history of sub/genre, however, will guide us through an exploration of modern and contemporary Arabic literature. We will get to engage with these texts thematically, stylistically, and intellectually. The aesthetic choices made in literature are never isolated from the intellectual, political, and sociohistorical contexts of a given text. Through the assigned texts and artworks, we will also learn about colonization, gender, imperialism, class, migration, ecology, among other pressing topics. No knowledge of Arabic is necessary; all readings in English translation.
Same as L75 JIMES 3520

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 554 Anthropological and Sociological Study of Muslim Societies

This course introduces students to anthropological and sociological scholarship on Muslim societies. Attention will be given to the broad theoretical and methodological issues which orient such scholarship. These issues include the nature of Muslim religious and cultural traditions, the nature of modernization and rationalization in Muslim societies, and the nature of sociopolitical relations between "Islam" and the "West." The course explores the preceding issues through a series of ethnographic and historical case studies, with a special focus on Muslim communities in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Case studies address a range of specific topics, including religious knowledge and authority, capitalism and economic modernization, religion and politics, gender and sexuality, as well as migration and globalization. Please note: L75 554 is intended for graduate students only.
Same as L75 JIMES 354

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD, SSC, SC, SD Arch: SSC Art: SSC BU: IS EN: S UColl: CD

L75 JIMES 556 Research Seminar for AM Students in Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies

This course is meant to support graduate students as they write and revise their AM papers for defense in the spring. Central to the undertaking is serious editorial response to others' ongoing research and writing, and the refining effort of revision. Each paper will be work-shopped at least once during the semester. Students will develop their peer-review skills while making progress on their own research. Permission of instructor required.

Credit 3 units.

L75 JIMES 5581 Musica Ebraica: Jewish Identities in Western Music from 1600 to the 21st century

The course explores Western music from the 17th century to the 21st century through the prism of musical works that were written by Jews and for Jews and of musical compositions reflecting their composers' identifying themselves as Jews. Jewish art music from these periods will be examined against the background of musical development in general, the social, political, and religious context of the composers, and written reflections about Jewish music. Examples of Jewish art music will be analyzed through different approaches in order to determine the cultural interrelationships between Jews and non-Jews, Jewish cultural autonomy, and the perception of Jewishness in music.
Same as L75 JIMES 3581

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD BU: HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 5582 Music in Jewish Culture and Society

The common term 'Jewish Music' raises numerous questions that emanate from the difficulty to define 'Jewish' identity of any given music. This course will deal with various approaches to the definition of Jewish music, perceived as a cultural and sociological component in the Jewish communities throughout the Diaspora. We will survey the functions in which music is performed in traditional Jewish communities, especially Jewish liturgy, and the substantial vicissitudes in these musics after the European Enlightenment, European colonialism in north-Africa, and in the Mediterranean. We will study the background and the different characteristics of selected Jewish communities - Ashkenazic, Sephardic, Italian, Yemenite, and others - as well as instrumental music, questions of gender, and the relationship between music and text." A secondary goal of this course will be the study of the bibliography and discography of Jewish musics.
Same as L75 JIMES 3582

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD EN: H

L75 JIMES 5583 The Soundtrack of Israeli History

This course explores connections between Israeli history, nationality, and culture, and between Israeli art music. Such an encounter between reveals the reflection of, and responses to, local social developments in various historic and constitutive moments in Israeli history such as: the fifth Aliya (wave of immigration) in the 1930s, the statehood years, the waning of nationalistic sentiments in the late 1950s, the aftermath of Israeli wars, the negotiation between Israeli and Jewish identities, and even artistic expressions of postmodernity within the Israeli context. These histories will be surveyed through historical studies as well as through their musics and against the background of developments in 20th century music.
Same as L75 JIMES 3583

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD EN: H

L75 JIMES 558C Modern Near Eastern Literatures

This course introduces literary expressions of the struggle for love, self-realization, and liberation. Genres include romanticism, realism, and the surreal. A comparative, team-taught approach is used to instruct students in selected genres, authors, or themes in two or more Near Eastern literatures (Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish) in English translation.
Same as L16 Comp Lit 358C

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 559 Travelers, Tricksters, and Storytellers: Jewish Travel Narratives and Autobiographies, 1100-1800

Jewish literature includes highly fascinating travel accounts and autobiographies that are still awaiting their discovery by a broader readership. In this course, we will explore a broad range of texts originating from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. They were written by both Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews hailing from countries as diverse as Spain, Italy, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire. Among the authors were pilgrims, rabbis, merchants, and one savvy businesswoman. We will read their works as responses to historical circumstances and as expressions of Jewish identity, in its changing relationship to the Christian or Muslim environment in which the writers lived or traveled. Specifically, we will ask questions such as: How do travel accounts and autobiographies enable their authors and readers to reflect on issues of identity and difference? How do the writers produce representations of an "other," against which and through which they define a particular sense of self? This course is open to students of varying interests, including Jewish, Islamic, or Religious Studies, medieval and early modern history, European or Near Eastern literatures. All texts will be read in English translation. Please note: L75 559 is intended for graduate students only.
Same as L75 JIMES 359

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 562 Approaches to the Qu'ran

The place of the Qur'an in Islamic religion and society. Equal emphasis on text: the Qur'an's history, contents, and literary features; and context: the place of the Qur'an in everyday life, its oral recitation, artistic uses, and scholarly interpretation. Knowledge of Arabic not required.
Same as L23 Re St 366

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD BU: ETH

L75 JIMES 5622 Topics in Islam: Islam and Human Rights

Selected themes in the study of Islam and Islamic culture in social, historical, and political context. The specific area of emphasis will be determined by the instructor. Please note: L75 5622 is intended for graduate students only.
Same as L75 JIMES 3622

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: IS EN: H UColl: CD

L75 JIMES 566 The Sephardic Experience: 1492 to the Present

In the public perception, modern Jews divide into two subethnic groups: Ashkenazi and Sephardi, or European and Middle Eastern Jews. However, this is an oversimplification that does not do justice to the diversity and complex history of Jewish identities, which are often multilayered. Strictly speaking, Sephardi Jews trace their ancestral lines or cultural heritage to the medieval Iberian Peninsula, present-day Spain and Portugal. That said, according to some scholars, Sephardi Judaism did not even exist before the general expulsion of Spanish Jewry in 1492 and is the result of their subsequent migrations within the Mediterranean and transatlantic worlds. We will start with an introduction into the history of Spanish Jews prior to 1492, asking to what extent memories of pre-expulsion Iberia are at the heart of Sephardi identity. We will then follow the migratory path of Sephardi exiles to North Africa, Italy, the Ottoman Empire, the Netherlands, and the Americas. The questions we will explore include: in what sense did Sephardim form a transnational community? How did they transmit and transform aspects of Spanish culture in form of Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) language and literature? How did they become intermediaries between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire? What was their role in Europe's transatlantic expansion and the slave trade? How did Ottoman and North African Jews respond to European cultural trends in the nineteenth century and create their own forms of modernity? How did the Holocaust impact Sephardi Jews?
Same as L75 JIMES 366

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 56CA Heroes and Saints in India: Religion, Myth, History

This course provides an introduction to the history of modern India and Pakistan through the voices of the Indian subcontinent's major thinkers. We will spend time in the company of saints, from the "great-souled" Mahatma Gandhi to the Sufi scholar Ashraf 'Ali Thanawi, and we will travel alongside the heroes of peasant politics, women's rights, and struggles for national and social freedom and equality. We will immerse ourselves in the rich narrative heritage of India -- as it has been challenged, reworked, and harnessed for present and future needs -- from the 19th century through the present. Lecture and discussion format; prior knowledge of India or Pakistan not required.
Same as L22 History 36CA

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD BU: ETH, IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 573 Topics in Near Eastern Cultures: Freedom in the Middle East

The topic for this course will change each semester; the specific topic for each semester will be given in Course Listings.
Same as L75 JIMES 373

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 577 History of Slavery in the Middle East

This course examines slavery and its abolition in the Middle East and North Africa from 600 C.E. to the 20th Century. It addresses slavery as a discourse and a question of political economy. We begin with an overview of slavery in late antiquity to contextualize the evolution of this practice after the rise of Islam in the region. We then examine how it was practiced, imagined, and studied under major empires, such as the Umayyads, the Abbasids, the Fatimids, the Mamluks, the Ottomans, and the Safavids. In addition to examining the Qur'anic discourse and early Islamic practices of slavery, to monitor change over time we address various forms of household, field, and military slavery as well as the remarkable phenomenon of "slave dynasties" following a chronological order. We discuss, through primary sources, theoretical, religious, and moral debates and positions on slavery, including religious scriptures, prophetic traditions, religious law, and a plethora of narratives from a range of genres. We highlight a distinct theme each week to focus on until we conclude our discussion with the abolition of slavery in the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics of discussion include various forms of male and female slavery, Qur'anic and prophetic discourse on slavery, legal and moral views on slavery, slavery as represented in religious literature, political, military, and economic structures of slavery, issues of race and gender as well as slave writings to reflect on the experiences of slavery from within. The goal is to enable students to understand the histories of slavery in the Middle East and eventually compare it to that of other regions and cultures, such as European and Atlantic slavery. No second language required.
Same as L75 JIMES 377

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: BA, IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 5810 Between Sand and Sea: History, Environment, and Politics in the Arabian Peninsula

Although it is today primarily associated with oil, the Arabian peninsula was for most of its history defined by water: its surrounding seas, its monsoon-driven winds, and its lack of water in its vast and forbidding interior deserts. As home to the major holy cities of Islam and a key source of global oil, the region has played an important role in the Western European and North American imagination. Despite being relatively sparsely populated, the peninsula hosts millions of believers each year on the annual Muslim pilgrimage, and it has been the site of major wars and military occupations by European, American, and other Middle Eastern countries for much of the 20th and 21st centuries. It has been an outpost of the Ottoman Empire, a center of British colonialism and (at Aden) an axis of its global empire, the location of Egypt's "Vietnam" (its long war in Yemen in the 1960s), the Gulf Wars I and II, and the recent wars in Yemen, to name just a few of the major conflicts. Often depicted as unchanging until caught up by the influx of massive oil wealth, this region is frequently characterized as a place of contradictions: home to some of the world's largest skyscrapers and also the most inhospitable and largest sand desert in the world, known as "the Empty Quarter"; the location of crucial American allies and the home of al-Qa'eda founder `Usama Bin Laden. In this course, we will examine the development of the peninsula historically to understand these contradictory images. We will investigate changes in the following arenas: environment and society; colonial occupation; newly independent states; the demise and development of key economic sectors (pearling; shipping; agriculture; oil; finance; piracy); political regimes; resources such as water, oil, and date palms; the growth of oil extraction infrastructure and its effects on the political regimes and societies in the region; the emergence of new Gulf cities; Islamic law; women's rights; human rights debates; and religious and ethnic minorities.
Same as L22 History 3810

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 584 Intro to Biblical Hebrew

This course will enable students to read the Bible in the original Hebrew. Review of Hebrew grammar. History of the Hebrew language. Intended for students with a foundation in modern Hebrew. PREREQ: Grade of B- or better in L74 214D Intermediate Modern Hebrew II or instructor's permission. Please note: L75 584 is intended for graduate students only.
Same as L74 HBRW 384

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD, LS BU: HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 585A Topics in Jewish Studies

Consult Course Listings for current topics. Please note: L75 585A is intended for graduate students only.
Same as L75 JIMES 385

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 585D Topics in Biblical Hebrew Texts: The Book of Isaiah

The topic covered in this course varies. Recent course topics include Jeremiah, The Book of Isaiah, and Biblical Poetry. Prerequisite: Grade of B- or better in L74 384 or permission of instructor. Note: L75 585D is intended for graduate students only.
Same as L74 HBRW 385D

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

L75 JIMES 587 Topics in Jewish Studies

Consult Course Listings for current topics. Please note: L75 587 is intended for graduate students only.
Same as L75 JIMES 387

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD BU: IS EN: H

L75 JIMES 590A Topics in JIMES: Slow Violence and the Environment in the Modern Middle East

This course is intended primarily for sophomores and juniors. The topic of this course varies by semester, dependent on faculty and student interests.
Same as L75 JIMES 390

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Arch: SSC Art: SSC BU: IS EN: S

L75 JIMES 591 Directed Writing: Thesis

Credit variable, maximum 6 units.

L75 JIMES 5920 Topics in Classical Arabic Literature in Translation: Animal Fables

Various themes in Arabic religious literature and Belles-Lettres (Adab), e.g., the intertwining of religion and politics, court culture and fashions, social critiques, gender roles, etc., will be read in English.
Same as L49 Arab 470

Credit 3 units. Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: ETH

L75 JIMES 609 Readings in Jewish History

Same as L22 History 609

Credit variable, maximum 4 units.

L75 JIMES 883 Master's Continuing Student Status

L75 JIMES 885 Masters Nonresident