Jewish Studies Information for Fall 2008 Incoming Freshmen
Class of 2012 - Welcome to Indiana University!
The faculty and staff of the Borns Jewish Studies Program are pleased you have selected Indiana University to further your education. Indiana University's Born's Jewish Studies Program, one of the foremost Jewish Studies programs, has the largest number of Jewish Studies majors of any secular university in the U.S. Our faculty includes some of the best teachers on campus.
While the number of students concentrating in Jewish Studies at IU is quite large in terms of Jewish Studies programs, it is small enough that our students are never just a number. The faculty and the undergraduate advisor are committed to taking time with students, helping our students make the most of their college experience.
In the spring of 2008, 73 students were majoring in Jewish Studies, and more than 78 students were pursuing the Jewish Studies certificate and Hebrew minor. We hope you'll meet with the Jewish Studies advisor in the fall and become a Jewish Studies student! In the meantime, you'll find on this site all the information you need for freshman orientation and fall registration.
The Indiana University Borns Jewish Studies Program, one of the largest undergraduate Jewish Studies program in the country, is noted for its commitment to undergraduate education, excellence in classroom experiences, as well as student programming and scholarship/ internship/ prize/ conference funding support for students. I encourage students interested in Jewish Studies to call the Borns Jewish Studies Program as early as possible in their IU careers (as early as the first weeks of the freshmen year) to arrange a meeting time with me.
Jewish Studies is for everyone. Its focus is the study OF Jews and Judaism. We welcome students from all personal and academic backgrounds to our courses, major, area certificate program, and Hebrew minor.
The Borns Jewish Studies Program offers 3 options for students:
The Jewish Studies major
- Open to College of Arts and Sciences students (B.A. students only; not B.S.).
- Open to School of Journalism students. Journalism students can complete the internal Jewish Studies major requirements along with the School of Journalism requirements.
The Jewish Studies certificate
- Open to all undergraduate students on the Bloomington campus!
- Requires a minimum of 8 courses in Jewish Studies in a particular configuration.
- More significant than a minor, the certificate is treated like another degree by the University.
Note: School of Music students have two options - to complete the certificate along with a Bachelor of Music or to complete a B.S. in Music with Jewish Studies as an Outside Field (considered by the School of Music as a second major.) Music or College of Arts & Sciences students interested in the Jewish Sacred Music curriculum should email Professor Judah Cohen (cohenjm@indiana.edu). [See below for more details.]
The Jewish Studies minor in Hebrew
- Students can choose to pursue both the Jewish Studies major and the Hebrew minor or the Jewish Studies certificate and the Hebrew minor, or the Hebrew minor alone.
Jewish Studies is the study of the Jews and Judaism. It is open to students from all backgrounds. Students do not need a background in Judaism or Jewish study to purse the major, area certificate, or Hebrew minor.
Freshman Interest Groups: Each fall, 14 students have the option of living together in the Jewish Studies Freshman Interest Group (#24) and taking two common Jewish Studies courses together in the fall semester.
Important notes
- There is no Jewish Studies minor.
- Interested in Teaching? Students interested in a career as a
Jewish educator should pursue the major in Jewish Studies rather
than a degree in Education. Only students who primarily want to
teach in a public school should become Education majors.
- Jewish Sacred Music curriculum: STudents with an interst in becoming cantors can prepare through a special sequence of courses. MORE>
- The Jewish Studies major is a single major. However, Jewish
Studies majors are encouraged to pursue two majors (any other B.A.
major in the College of Arts and Sciences). So what other major
should you pursue? There is no "right" second major. The
most "popular" majors tend to be Religious Studies, History, Psychology
(B.A. program), and Political Science. But Jewish Studies majors
also complete another major with any major (Bachelor of Arts) in the
College of Arts and Sciences — Anthropology, Theater, IMP, French,
Sociology, Philosophy, B.A.s in the sciences, etc.
What courses in Jewish Studies should I take this fall?
Freshmen interested in the Jewish Studies major should, at minimum, take 2 courses in the fall:
1)
A course in
Biblical Hebrew, Modern Hebrew, or Yiddish
JSTU-H 100 Introduction to Elementary Hebrew I (4 cr.)
MTWR 10:10-11 #10738; MTWR 10:10-11 #16081; MTWR 11:15-12:05
#16064; MTWR 12:20-1:10 #10739 or
Students should put themselves on the waitlist if there are no seats left. New spaces will open up! We'll try to accommodate all students who want to take Hebrew.
*Very important note: All incoming students should register for JSTU-H 100. Students with prior Hebrew experience should plan to take the Hebrew placement test the week before classes and the first days of fall classes. Students who test above H 100 will then be moved to more advanced Hebrew courses.
or
GER-Y 100 Beginning Yiddish I (4 cr.) MWF 9:30-10:45 Dov-Ber Kerler
2) HIST-H 251 Introduction to Jewish History: From the Bible to the
Spanish Expulsion,
Taught by Professor Jeffrey Veidlinger (class #17045) TR 1:00-2:15
Majors with room in their schedules can also take one of these Jewish Studies College Topics courses in the fall:
COLL-E 103 Topics in Arts and Humanities
Topic: The Bible and its Interpreters (3 cr.) TR 11:15-12:05 Steven
Weitzman
Discussion section also required: section #14254 (Friday 11:15-12:05) or discussion section #14255 (Friday 12:20-1:10) or discussion section #14253 (Friday 1:25-2:15) or discussion section #14252 (Friday 2:30-3:20)
or
COLL-E 103 Topics in Arts and Humanities (3 cr.) Shaul Magid
Topic: Power, Politics, and Piety: The Struggle for the Holy Land in Israel/Palestine
Lecture: MW 1:25-2:15
One discussion section also required: R 10:10-11:00 (#14242); R 11:15-12:05 (#14243)
or
COLL-E 103 Topics in Arts and Humanities (3 cr.) Herbert Marks
Topic: Who Wrote the Bible?
Lecture: TR 4:40-5:20
One discussion section also required: F 10:10-11:00 (#14222); F 10:10-11:00 (#14223);
F 11:15-12:05 (#14224); F 11:15-12:05 (#14225)
Students interested in the certificate in Jewish Studies can take one or two of the following:
A Jewish language and HIST-H 251 Introduction to Jewish History, and if there is room in your schedule one of the other COLL-E 103 Topics courses mentioned in the paragraph above.
If you find that a class is closed (particularly a Hebrew class) when you register, please place yourself on the waitlist! New seats and sections may open up as enough students request spaces. The Jewish Studies Program will be watching enrollments closely during the summer.
If you plan to pursue the Jewish Studies major or certificate, you need to meet with the Jewish Studies advisor this fall!
How do I arrange a fall appointment with the Jewish Studies advisor?
Call (855-0453). Appointments cannot be arranged by e-mail.
- Students will not be considered Jewish Studies majors or certificate students until they have met with the Jewish Studies advisor, Dr. Carolyn Lipson-Walker.
- When you meet with Dr. Carolyn Lipson-Walker in the fall, you will learn about the Jewish Studies Student Association, conference funding, events, scholarship competitions for Jewish Studies students and more.
Information about Jewish Language Courses
Students can choose to study one of 3 Jewish languages - Modern Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew, or Yiddish. Completion of 4 semesters of any one of these languages fulfills the College of Arts and Sciences foreign language requirement. However, there is no guarantee that four semesters of biblical Hebrew or Yiddish courses will be offered in a two year cycle. Introductory Yiddish will be taught in Fall 2008. Introductory Biblical Hebrew will be taught in Fall 2009.
Modern Hebrew
- Students should start taking Hebrew courses in their freshman year and take the courses in two consecutive academic years. This will allow completion of the sequence without having to face language attrition issues. Beginning Modern Hebrew in the freshman year will also allow students to study abroad in their junior (or perhaps senior) year without risking problems in completing the foreign language requirement.
- Modern Hebrew language courses are taught in a yearly cycle with the first semester (JSTU-H 100), third semester (JSTU-H 200) and fifth semester (JSTU-H 300) taught each fall. There are a number of sections of first and third semester Hebrew and a section of fifth semester Hebrew offered this fall.
- The Hebrew program has a policy of a minimum C grade in order to move on to a higher level course. Hence, students should be committed to serious study when they choose to study Hebrew.
- Students testing out of 6 semesters of Hebrew may be eligible to enroll in a more advanced Hebrew language course. An advanced Hebrew class, JSTU-H 485, Recent Hebrew Literature in Hebrew will be offered in fall 2008. An advanced Hebrew course above JSTU-H 350 (JSTU-H 497) will probably be offered in spring 2009.
Note: Students placing out of two semesters of Modern Hebrew automatically have these two semesters of Hebrew (4 credits each) added to their IU transcript. If students test out of courses beyond the first two semesters, they must complete the Hebrew language course into which they have placed with a minimum grade of C- in order to receive Hebrew language credit for these courses.
Students taking Hebrew may also want to complete the new Jewish Studies minor in Hebrew.
Biblical Hebrew
- Beginning Biblical Hebrew will be taught in fall 2009.
- Biblical Hebrew is an excellent foreign language choice for serious students interested in rabbinical, cantorial school, or seminary.
Yiddish
- Beginning Yiddish will be taught this fall.
- The most widely spoken Jewish language ever, Yiddish was the oral and literary language for most Jews in Europe for nearly 800 years, as well as the language of Jewish immigrants to the United States.
- The Department of Germanic Studies offers an undergraduate minor in Yiddish.
