Course Resources Archive

This module introduces some of the key elements of contemporary Jewish belief, theology, ethics, culture, and ritual practice, as grounded in Jewish historical experience. The module will use lectures, workshops and analysis of classic texts, novels and visual images to focus on modern and contemporary Judaism in western Europe and the U.S.  The module will pay close attention to the role of gender in the construction of Jewish experience and to both conservative and liberal approaches to the transmission of tradition.  Where relevant, the module will be illustrated by photographs taken by the tutor of Orthodox life in contemporary Jerusalem.

Using Dan Cohn-Sherbok’s Judaism: History, Beliefs and Practices (Routledge, 2003) as its key text, the module will

open with an introductory survey of Contemporary Jewish identities. The module will then turn to questions of belief, covering the tension between anthropomorphism and abstraction in Jewish models of God and some of the major themes in contemporary Jewish religious thought.  The module will also detect key patterns in Jewish history and mythography and explore the nature, purpose and operation of Jewish law (halakhah) in social, marital and domestic life.  There will be careful attention to the role of gender in Judaism throughout the module.  Jewish worship and spirituality; Jewish ethics (with the exemplar of Jewish medical ethics) and the Shoah and post-Holocaust theological writings will also be introduced.

A student passing this module should be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of both the unity and the diversity of Jewish belief, practice, history, culture and identity

2.  Make reflective and informed judgments about the religious claims and positions of different Jewish denominations and cultural-political alliances.

3. Critically evaluate intra-Judaic religious, philosophical and theological arguments.

4. Understand how modernity and emancipation have shaped Jewish thought and experience.

5. Understand how gender difference is negotiated in both conservative and progressive Jewish groupings.

6.  Deploy a range of literary, electronic and visual resources representing a broad spectrum of Jewish views in order to gather, evaluate and synthesise different types of information.

The Library Catalogue contains full details of the current reading list for this module. Further details may also be found in the Module Guide.