A new Jewish studies minor, which has been an ongoing project over the past several years, may be approved soon at the UofA.
Courses pertaining to Jewish studies have been taught independently over the past few years, but professors have worked together to offer courses that complement one another. Jennifer Hoyer, director of the Jewish Studies Program, played a leading role in establishing the program, along with a few other professors.
“The program has been coming together slowly over a number of years,” Hoyer said. “Many of the courses that are part of the program have been offered here for a number of years, but independently. Anyone who takes Jewish American Literature could benefit from and be interested in Introduction to Judaism, Holocaust Studies or Modern Jewish Philosophy. Each of these courses complements the others.”
Jewish courses can be very useful in a college education, and they can add a number of unique dimensions to many disciplines, such as architecture, law, history, politics or writing, Hoyer said.
“Students should consider taking these courses for all sorts of reasons,” Hoyer said. “Jewish studies can enhance any number of disciplines. For example, look at Holocaust history. Many texts about the Holocaust require an understanding of Jewish approaches to justice, charity, memory or even the act of writing things down.”
Junior Lauren Kamp, an international relations major, said she thinks taking Jewish courses could be useful for students.
“It seems interesting to study and learn,” Kamp said. “It would be practical to take courses in Jewish studies for my major because Israel has a unique story politically. Israel being
surrounded by Muslim countries has led to many problems in that area of the world. As a United States citizen, these classes would be particularly interesting due to the major relations that Israel has with the United States.”
Gwynne Gertz teaches American Jewish Literature, and Jacob Adler offered an intensive course in Biblical Hebrew over the summer. In the spring of 2015, he plans to teach Contemporary Jewish Thought as a course.
Future courses will include Introduction to Judaism, Germany and the Holocaust and a course about French and African Jews. Courses offered through the history, anthropology and political science departments will include Jewish studies topics, ranging from Jewish life in the Middle Ages, to studies of religion in America and to current Middle Eastern politics.
“Jewish thought is much more present in everyday life than is often immediately apparent and understanding Jewish cultures, languages and histories can really broaden any student’s understanding of just about any topic you can think of,” Hoyer said.
