Faculty of Arts

Jewish Studies

Conveners: are Dr M Baker (History) and Dr Z Shavitsky (Language Studies).

The Jewish Studies Program is coordinated by the departments of History, Language Studies and Classics and Archaeology. It offers students a means of studying the development of Jewish civilisation from its origins to the present. Subjects are designed to explore Jewish experience from a range of disciplines - history, literature, archaeology, philosophy, ethnography and social theory.

Although language study is not a component of the major, students are encouraged to complete a Hebrew major in parallel (refer to Hebrew entry). All subjects in the Jewish Studies major are taught in the departments of History, Language Studies and Classics and Archaeology.

Graduates who have majored in Jewish Studies have found employment as teachers, academics, translators, interpreters, writers, journalists, editors and in various areas of the public service and professions serving the local Jewish community.

A major in Jewish Studies requires the completion of at least five subjects at second and third-year level, totalling 83.3 points, chosen from the following list of subjects.

The prerequisite for entry to Combined Honours in Jewish Studies is completion of all requirements for the pass degree, including a major in Jewish Studies with an overall average grade of H2B or better.

Students undertaking Combined Honours must meet the requirements for Honours in the combining department.

Students enrol in the following: one semester of Hebrew at either Intermediate or Advanced level (16.7 points). In Second semester, a weekly seminar 150-453 The Literature of Destruction: Jewish Responses to Catastrophe - offered by the Department of Language Studies (16.7 points); plus 33.3 points of coursework and a thesis as agreed in the combining department.

Students may include subjects completed at an accredited overseas university as part of their second-year Jewish Studies major. Formal arrangements exist with the Rothberg School for Overseas Students of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and the Oxford One Year Program in Jewish Studies. Both institutions offer a wide range of subjects in Jewish studies. In certain cases, financial assistance for overseas study may be arranged in consultation with the convener. Students proceeding to overseas study must have the permission of the Convener of the Jewish Studies Program and the Faculty of Arts before commencing their overseas study.

For more information, consult Dr M Baker (History) or Dr Z Shavitsky (Language Studies).

Subject Descriptions

131-243 Hitler's Germany
131-254 The Holocaust and Genocide
131-267 German History 1800-1918
131-285 Jewish Humour: From the Bible To Broadway
131-286 Screening the Holocaust
131-287 Histories of God: Judaism, Christianity and Islam
104-268 The New Testament and Judaism in Ancient Palestine
104-226 Religious Movements: Origins Vs Constructions
150-251 Modern Jewish Literature A: Exile and Homecoming
150-252 Modern Jewish Literature B: Biblical and Modern Metaphor
131-248 Christians and Jews in Medieval Europe
131-448 The Rabbinic Imagination
131-449 Philosophies of Jewish History
150-453 The Literature of Destruction: Jewish Responses To Catastrophe
150-454 Jerusalem As A Metaphor in Jewish Literature

Status:                   OFFICIAL 1997
Last Modified:            Wednesday March 12 3:36 pm
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Authorised by:            Academic Registrar
Email Enquiries:          Course_Information@registrar.unimelb.edu.au