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HEBR 101  Introduction to Modern Hebrew I (Fall)

For students with no (or a minimal) background in Hebrew. This course introduces elements of grammar and vocabulary of modern Hebrew.
NOTE Students can self-enrol during the course registration period. However, for students with previous knowledge of the language, final approval of enrolment is at the discretion of the instructor, pending an assessment of a student's language competency. Students can contact the instructor for an assessment anytime during the academic year (September-May). Please note that instructors may not be available for language competency assessments in May, June, July, and early August. Non-disclosure of previous knowledge of the language is considered a departure from academic integrity.
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)  
Requirements: Prerequisite None. Exclusion HEBR 190/6.0.  
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science  

HEBR 201  Intermediate Modern Hebrew (Fall)

An advanced extensive grammar review with practice in speaking, reading and writing that continues where HEBR 102 left off.
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)  
Requirements: Prerequisite HEBR 102/3.0 or HEBR 190/6.0. Exclusion HEBR 294/3.0*.  
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science  

HEBR 102  - Introduction to Modern Hebrew (Winter)

For students who have basic knowledge of Hebrew and can read and write all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This course continues where HEBR 101 left off and proceeds to introduce elements of grammar and vocabulary of modern Hebrew.
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)  
Requirements: Prerequisite HEBR 101/3.0. Exclusion HEBR 190/6.0.  
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science

HEBR 301 -  Topics in Hebrew: Contemporary Hebrew Literature in Translation (Winter)

Specialized study, as circumstances permit, of a particular author, genre, theme, movement, literary form or some combination of these elements. Course details to be announced on website.
NOTE This course is repeatable for credit under different topic titles.
Requirements: Prerequisite HEBR 294 or permission of the Instructor. Note: Visit the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures website for more information about this course.  
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science  

HIST 220 - Jews on Film (Winter)

The Jewish presence in American filmmaking has long been the obsession of hate-mongers. But historians have begun to approach the matter as a legitimate subject of enquiry and have shown that it is possible to avoid the bigot-booster trap that so often plagues the study of hot-button issues such as this one. This course attempts to answer the following questions: Has Hollywood's “Jewishness” had a discernible impact on the content of cultural products? Have the changes in American society--and in the film industry--since the early 20th century had an effect on the way in which Jews and Jewish identity are represented on screen? Have Jewish images become “normalized”?

HIST 241 - Voices of a People: An Introduction to Jewish Music (Winter)

For over two millennia, Jewish communities around the globe have developed diverse musical cultures, shaped by migration, cultural exchange, political upheaval, and technological change. This course explores these cultures across a wide range of periods, locales, and musical genres, ranging from sacred music in Renaissance Italy to contemporary hip-hop. We will engage key questions in the study of Jewish music, such as: What do varied Jewish musical cultures have in common, and what does their diversity reveal about migration and cultural transmission? How have political changes—such as the Emancipation of European Jewry, the Russian Revolution, and the founding of the State of Israel—influenced Jewish musical expression? How do musicians draw on the Jewish past, both ancient and modern, to inspire new forms of creativity?

Students will acquire tools for analyzing music in both historical and contemporary contexts. No prior knowledge of music or Jewish culture is required.

HIST 294 - The Arab-Israeli Conflict in Global Perspective (Winter)

The contention of this course is that we cannot understand the history of the current conflict in Palestine/Israel in terms of the region, religion or political ideology alone. Rather to understand this long conflict demands a global context. This course introduces students to several intersecting histories, primarily but not exclusively those of the Jews of Europe and the Muslims and Christians of Ottoman Palestine, provinces where ancient sites and cities of pilgrimage for three world religions are found. Over the semester, the class will be introduced to some of the principle actors, conditions, and events, as well as the global dynamics (such as the Cold War) that have frustrated peaceful resolution and the implementation of international law. In addition to studying the social dynamics of war and resistance, the course will introduce students to the cultural contributions of Palestinian and Israeli writers, musicians and film makers. 

HIST 295 - The Holocaust (Fall)

The background to and processes of the destruction of the Jews of Europe between 1933 and 1945. Themes to be covered include: modern anti-semitism, Jewish communities in the inter-war era, Nazi racial policies, the Judenrat, the organization of the death camps, the attitudes of the Christian churches, the role of collaborators, the ideology of mass murder, and the questions of ‘compliance’, ‘resistance’, and ‘silence’.

HIST 306 - Holocaust: Problems and Interpretations (Full Year)

A fall/winter course taught in conjunction with HIST-295, the first half is a lecture that gives a broad overview of the Holocaust, and the second half is a seminar in which the main themes of Holocaust historiography are examined. Subjects to be covered: the difference between anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism, the origins of the "Jewish problem", European nationalism in the inter-war era, Nazi racial policies before WWII, the rise of the police state, the organization of the concentration camps and death camps, and the victims, perpetrators, and by-standers of the Holocaust. 

HIST 339 - Jews without Judaism (Fall)

This course explores the North American Jewish engagement with modern ideologies such as secularism, antisemitism, liberalism, nationalism, socialism, feminism, and neo-conservativism. Other specific topics include the secularization of universities; the recent retrenchment of Orthodox Judaism; and the resurgence of ‘popular atheism’.

HIST 402 - Topics in History: Sweatshops, Borscht, Hasidic Pop: Yiddish New York (Winter)

This course examines the rich and complex history of Yiddish language and culture in New York City from the late nineteenth century to the present. Tracing the development of Yiddish across both secular and religious communities, we will explore its diverse contexts—from early twentieth-century anarchist circles and mid-century Broadway portrayals to contemporary Hasidic pop stars. We will engage with a broad array of historical sources, including newspaper articles, poetry, cookbooks, films, and music videos, to analyze how different media reflect shifting patterns of language use and the construction of ethnic and religious identity. Through these case studies, the course will illuminate key themes in the history of North American Jewry, including immigration, religious and cultural assimilation, political activism, gender roles and identities, and participation in the American popular culture industry.

HIST 402-004 - Topics in History: Religious Minorities in Medieval-Early Modern Christendom (Fall)

This course takes a sociological and comparative historiographical approach to persecutions of religious minorities (Jews, Muslims, and so-called heretics) a in the emergence of modern Western nation-states.  Beginning with the early Crusades and concluding with the Wars of Religion and the Inquisition, students will: study  how anti-minority persecution helped lay the foundations of the Medieval kingdoms of Sicily, England and France ; reconstruct the dynamic of mass expulsions and mass murder in German cites during the Bubonic Plague; and investigate the  politics of ghettoization of Jews and Muslims  in early modern Italy, among other topics. In addition to course readings, class presentations, and general discussion, seminar participants will devote a research paper to a case study on the relationship between historic religious persecution and political institutions, identity, and social movements. 

PHIL 367 - Jewish Philosophy (Fall)

An examination of key Jewish thought from Philo to Fackenheim, exploring such themes as the relationship between philosophy, literature, law, and religion; developments within Jewish philosophy; non-Jewish influences on Jewish thought and vice-versa. Contributions to contemporary philosophical work such as those in bioethics and postmodernism may also be considered.

RELS 132 - Western Religions (Fall)

This course will examine Judaism, Christianity, Islam as well as some indigenous traditions and new religious movements. It will primarily consider these religious traditions in their historical context, looking carefully at their origins, sacred literature, and ritual life, though at times we will consider selected contemporary issues that highlight different religions' response to modernity.

RELS 398 - Jewish Cultural and Political Thought (Fall)

The development of modern Jewish thought and practice, including the Reform, Orthodox, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements. The consequences of the Holocaust and the establishment of the modern State of Israel.
Learning Hours: 132 (36 Lecture, 96 Private Study)  
Requirements: Prerequisite (Level 3 or above) or (6.0 units of RELS at the 100-level).  
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science.