Browse through the database below to explore courses that will fulfill certain degree requirements in the Jewish Studies program.
When registering for classes on the Course Timetable website, be sure to carefully read through the “Notes/Additional Fees” section of each course you select. Remember that REMT & ONLN are completely online courses and LECT, TUT, BLEN and SEMR could have in-person components.
Not all of the courses below will necessarily be offered in any given year. For more information, please consult the relevant supplemental calendars. Subject to course exclusion and Faculty regulations, you may also complete courses offered outside of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies for credit in JWST.
Note: We urge you to ensure you have complete all prerequisites for each course you wish to take. Prerequisites will not be waived for JWST.
AP/JWST 1000 6.00 Elementary Modern Hebrew, Level I
This course is an introduction to Modern Hebrew designed only for students with no previous knowledge of Hebrew. The course is structured to build students’ ability to comprehend and produce Modern Hebrew through listening, speaking, …
AP/JWST 1020 6.00 Elementary Biblical Hebrew I & II
This course introduces students to the basic vocabulary, grammar, and syntax of “Biblical” Hebrew as represented in the Bible and in ancient Hebrew inscriptions. Students are introduced to the Hebrew writing system, basic vocabulary, grammar …
AP/JWST 1030 3.00 Elementary Biblical Hebrew, Level I
Introduces students to the basic vocabulary, grammar, and syntax of “”Biblical”” Hebrew as represented in the Bible and in ancient Hebrew inscriptions. Students are introduced to the Hebrew writing system, basic vocabulary, grammar, and syntax. …
AP/JWST 1040 3.00 Elementary Biblical Hebrew, Level I
Introduces students to the basic vocabulary, grammar, and syntax of “”Biblical”” Hebrew as represented in the Bible and in ancient Hebrew inscriptions. Students are introduced to the Hebrew writing system, basic vocabulary, grammar, and syntax. …
AP/JWST 1045 3.00 Klezmer Ensemble
Practical performance instruction in the Klezmer/Yiddish song musical traditions. Some performance ability and knowledge of violin, bass, guitar, cello, piano, clarinet, sax, accordion, trombone, flute or trumpet is required. Other instruments—including voice— are welcomed. Prerequisite: …
AP/JWST 1100 6.00 Elementary Yiddish Language
This course is an introduction to Yiddish designed for students with no formal training in or knowledge of the language. The course focuses on basic literacy, grammar and conversation.
AP/JWST 1850 6.00 The Bible and Modern Contexts
Note: Successful completion of this course fulfills General Education requirements in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. This course offers a survey of much of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the Christian …
AP/JWST 1870 6.00 The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and the Arts
This course looks at selected passages from the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and their interpretative reflection in the western artistic tradition, including pictorial/ representational art, music, literature, and cinema. The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament is one of …
AP/JWST 1880 6.00 Jewish Experience: Civilization and Culture
An examination of the interaction of Jews and gentiles in selected periods from antiquity through the 20th century. A case study in ethnic adaptation, the course seeks to understand how Jews sometimes adapted their lives …
AP/JWST 2000 6.00 Intermediate Modern Hebrew
This course is intended to improve the student’s ability to read, write, speak and comprehend modern Hebrew. Although the course presupposes the equivalent of one year of elementary Hebrew, a systematic review of grammar is …
AP/JWST 2045 3.00 Klezmer Ensemble
Practical performance instruction in the Klezmer/Yiddish song musical traditions. Some performance ability and knowledge of violin, bass, guitar, cello, piano, clarinet, sax, accordion, trombone, flute or trumpet is required. Other instruments—including voice— are welcomed. Prerequisite: …
AP/JWST 2100 6.00 Intermediate Yiddish Language
The course reinforces and builds upon speaking, reading, and writing skills introduced in Elementary Yiddish. Emphasis is placed on enabling comprehension of a variety of types speeches and texts and on developing fluent, idiomatic speech …
AP/JWST 3000 6.00 Advanced Modern Hebrew
In this course students further develop their ability to read, write, speak and comprehend modern Hebrew. Various aspects of Hebrew grammar will be reviewed. Emphasis is on vocabulary enrichment, and comprehension of modern Hebrew texts …
AP/JWST 3045 3.00 Klezmer Ensemble
Practical performance instruction in the Klezmer/Yiddish song musical traditions. Some performance ability and knowledge of violin, bass, guitar, cello, piano, clarinet, sax, accordion, trombone, flute or trumpet is required. Other instruments—including voice— are welcomed. Prerequisite: …
AP/JWST 3110 6.00 Ancient Israel: From Its Origins in the Settlement to the Babylonian Exile
A survey of the history of ancient Israel within its ancient Near Eastern context from its putative origins in the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1550-1200 BCE) through its flowering in the Iron Age (or First …
AP/JWST 3210 3.00 Selections from Biblical Hebrew Texts: Reading and Analysis
This course surveys the structure and contents of TaNaKh, the Hebrew Bible, using selections from its three major sections: Pentateuch, Prophets and Writings. It further examines major trends in biblical exegesis, such as peshat and …
AP/JWST 3211 3.00 Selections from Hebrew Legal-Religious Texts: Reading and Analysis
This course provides an overview of the beginnings and development of Jewish law. Starting with Biblical materials, we progress through the centuries to the modern world. Attention is paid to process development and the impact …
AP/JWST 3220 3.00 Hebrew Liturgical Texts: Origins, Contexts and Analysis
This course addresses both the geography of the classical Jewish Hebrew prayer text, the Siddur, as well as the overall structure of the text. It focuses also on selected prayers and their internal structures, histories …
AP/JWST 3221 3.00 Hebrew Liturgical Texts: Origins, Contexts and Analysis (in translation)
This course addresses both the geography of the classical Jewish Hebrew prayer text, the Siddur, as well as the overall structure of the text. It focuses also on selected prayers and their internal structures, histories …
AP/JWST 3230 3.00 The Literature of Celebration and Commemoration
This course analyzes a variety of texts, classical and modern, in which aspects of major Jewish festivals and memorial days are explored. PREREQUISITE: AP/HEB 3000 6.00 or permission of the department.COURSE CREDIT EXCLUSIONS: AP/HEB 3231 …
AP/JWST 3231 3.00 The Literature of Celebration and Commemoration (in translation)
This course focuses on Jewish holidays and the weekly Sabbath. Ancient text is studied along with modern philosophical and thematic materials. This course traces the development of some traditions from ancient text through modern practice.Course …
AP/JWST 3260 6.00 War and Peace in the Middle East
This course examines the causes of conflicts in the Middle East. The history of foreign powers’ involvement in the region, religious fundamentalism, authoritarianism, economic development and politics of oil and water provide the background to …
AP/JWST 3261 3.00 Creating Israel: The Zionist Idea, 1870-1948
One of the most consequential and controversial events of the twentieth century is the emergence in 1948 of the State of Israel, the first Jewish state since antiquity, under the auspices of the Zionist movement. …
AP/JWST 3320 3.00 Exodus: Text and Classical Interpretation
A close textual analysis of the book of Exodus in the original Hebrew and of interpretations of the book written in Hebrew throughout the ages. PREREQUISITE: AP/HEB 3000 6.00 or equivalent.Course credit exclusions: None.
AP/JWST 3330 3.00 Deuteronomy: Texts and Classical Interpretation
A close textual analysis of the book of Deuteronomy and of interpretations of the book written in Hebrew throughout the ages. Prerequisite: AP/HEB 3000 6.00 or equivalent. Course credit exclusions: None.Prior TO FALL 2009: Prerequisite: …
AP/JWST 3370 3.00 Hagiographical Literature: Text and Classical Interpretation
A close textual analysis of selected passages from the later books of the Bible; Esther, Lamentations and Ecclesiastes, and interpretations of these books written in Hebrew throughout the ages.
Beginning with a survey of life in the new states that emerged in East Central Europe after WWI (e.g. Poland, Hungary, and Lithuania) in the 1920s and 30s, this course ends with an exploration of …
AP/JWST 3387 3.00 Bitter legacy: Jewish-non-Jewish Relations in Eastern Europe since 1945
Explores relations between Jews and other peoples in Eastern Europe after World War II.
AP/JWST 3421 3.00 Origins of Christianity I: Paul and The First Generation (up to 65 CE)
This course explores the literary, social and cultural context of the apostle Paul and the recipients of his letters while also considering the legacies of Paul after his death. The course begins with a study …
This course takes a historical approach to writings produced in the second generation of the Jesus movements, including the gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John. The course begins with a discussion of the first-century …
AP/JWST 3425 3.00 Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls provide an intriguing window into the development of early Christianity and rabbinic Judaism. This course examines the texts, the communities which produced them, contemporary movements within Judaism and Christianity, and the …
AP/JWST 3519 6.00 Contemporary Women’s Rituals: An Introduction
This course explores this phenomenon and analyzes a variety of contemporary women’s rituals in light of contemporary feminist ritual theory and methodology.
AP/JWST 3600 3.00 Themes in Modern Israeli Literature and Society
An exploration of some major currents in contemporary Hebrew literature; how do Israeli writers respond and reflect upon the daily challenges of Israeli life? Internationally acclaimed, gifted Israeli authors help us better understand the moral, …
AP/JWST 3630 6.00 Israeli Cinema: Culture, Values, Art
This course introduces students to Israeli cinema as it evolved from the 1930s to the present. By studying feature films and documentaries, this course looks at film as a vehicle through which to explore questions …
AP/JWST 3650 3.00 Art in Crisis
Examines art produced in times of crisis, social and personal extremes: imprisonment, totalitarianism, political occupation, illness, war. Focuses chiefly on the Holocaust of WW2, as well as Indigenous American Reserve cultures, contemporary Palestinian art, representation …
AP/JWST 3651 3.00 God/USA: Religion in America Since 1491
Explores the key themes, critical questions, and entrenched conflicts about the place of religion during the long and varied history of American civic and cultural life. It analyzes Native-Newcomer religious tensions, disestablishment, uniquely American religions, …
AP/JWST 3688 3.00 Holocaust Literature of Children and Youth
This course analyzes themes and art relevant to children and youth in adolescents’ and children’s Holocaust literature: novels, picture books and poetry. Participants apply cognitive and affective modes of perception—ways of knowing, perceiving, and sensing— …
AP/JWST 3710 3.00 Diaspora, Home, Nostalgia: Modern Jewish Women's Literature
What is “Jewish” and “modern” about modern Jewish women’s literature, and how does it reflect the experiences and perceptions of women? Examining a variety of literary genres, the course compares Israeli women’s literature in translation …
AP/JWST 3770 3.00 Inventing Israel: Culture, Crisis and Continuity in Israeli Literature
Modern Hebrew writers faced the challenge of reinventing a language and culture during a century of upheaval and change. Examining fiction, poetry, memoirs and film (in translation), this course addresses such issues as personal and …
AP/JWST 3795 3.00 A Cultural History of Satan: Personified Evil in Early Judaism and in Christianity
This course analyzes themes and art relevant to children and youth in adolescents’ and children’s Holocaust literature. Participants apply cognitive and affective modes of perception-ways of knowing, perceiving, and sensing- to read through the eyes …
AP/JWST 3810 6.00 Ancient Israelite Literature: The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in Context
A survey of the literature of the Hebrew Bible within the context of its world. Students examine the text in translation and become familiar with a variety of literary, historical and theological approaches to the …
AP/JWST 3818 3.00 Sacred Space and Ritual Practices in Islam
Examines the plurality of rituals and devotional practices in Islam and the variety of spaces and places engendered by Muslim worship and devotion from early Islam to the contemporary period. It examines the diversity of …
AP/JWST 3820 3.00 More Money Than God: Religion and Capitalism
This 3000-level course explores the fascinating, tangled history of religion & money. It examines ideas about wealth & poverty, virtue & vice in scriptures and classic texts of various religions, and considers how those ideas …
AP/JWST 3823 3.00 Greeks and Jews in the Hellenistic World
A study of the encounter of Greek religious ideas, practices and institutions with the Egyptian, Persian and Jewish religions in the period from Alexander to the First Century BCE.
AP/JWST 3825 6.00 The Holocaust in Cross-Cultural Context, Canada, Germany, Poland
This course examines how the Holocaust is represented and taught in Canada, Germany and Poland in the context of racism and multiculturalism in these three countries. It combines aspects of cultural studies, history, religious studies …
AP/JWST 3829 3.00 A Convenient Hatred: Antisemitism Before, During and After the Holocaust
The origins of modern antisemitism can be traced to pagan hostility toward the Jews, Christian anti-Judaism, and the popular demonization of the Jews by the Middle Ages. The emergence of ideologies supported by pseudo-science to …
AP/JWST 3831 3.00 Torah and Tradition: Jewish Religious Expressions from Antiquity to the Present
This course offers an exploration of Jewish beliefs, institutions, and bodies of literature, emphasizing continuities and changes in religious expression within and across different places, circumstances, and times. Themes covered include God, the Jewish people, …
AP/JWST 3835 6.00 Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Canada
This course examines contemporary manifestations of antisemitism and islamophobia in Canada. It begins by providing a brief historical review of Christian anti-Jewish thought and theology as put forward by the early Church fathers, Augustine and …
AP/JWST 3840 6.00 Law, Ethics and Revelation in Judaism
A historical analysis of the formation of the ideas, literature and institutions of rabbinic Judaism as they took shape from the first to the seventh centuries.
AP/JWST 3841 3.00 The Emergence of Modern Yiddish Culture
This seminar examines the transformation of Yiddish from the vernacular of an ethno-religious community to a language of modern, secular mass culture and national politics in the 19th and 20th centuries in Eastern Europe.
AP/JWST 3843 3.00 Jerusalem: Holy City, Bloody City
The course’s learning objectives are multifold. Substantively, the course aims to impart to students a sense of the major periods in the life of Jewish religious expression and illustrate how an essential matrix of elements …
AP/JWST 3846 6.00 Contemporary Jewish Theologies: Challenges of the 21st Century
Introduces and explores Jewish theological challenges and issues of the 21st century as articulated in the writings of feminist, queer, secular and liberal thinkers. Analyzes perspectives and concepts regarding such issues as the relationship between …
AP/JWST 3848 3.00 Modernist Yiddish Poetry in Translation
This course is an introduction to Yiddish Modernist poetry of the early to mid-twentieth century with emphasis on the schools of Yiddish Modernism in America.
AP/JWST 3850 6.00 The Final Solution: Perspectives on the Holocaust
An examination of the Nazi attempt to exterminate the Jews: the historical and philosophical background, the theological and psychological implications, the history and literature of the period.
AP/JWST 3855 6.00 Imagining the Worst: Responses to the Holocaust
This course explores responses to the Holocaust in imaginative texts – fiction, poetry and film – alongside autobiographical, historical and philosophical accounts. Works by survivors and others enable us to examine forms of Holocaust memory, …
AP/JWST 3856 3.00 Women and the Holocaust
Through the work of a small group of scholars across disciplines, there has been a growing acknowledgment of the importance of gender as a category of analysis in deepening our understanding of the past and …
AP/JWST 3858 3.00 Biblical Archaeology / Cult and Culture in Ancient Canaan
This course surveys the material culture of the land known variously as Canaan, Israel, Judah, Judea, Palestine, and the Holy Land, from the Neolithic or “New Stone” Age (as of ca. 8500 BCE) until the …
AP/JWST 3860 6.00 Modern History of the Jews
What defines the modern era in the history of the Jews? This course proposes multiple answers to that question as it explores developments in Jewish culture, identity, religion, and politics, as well as relations between …
AP/JWST 3917 3.00 Contemporary Jewish Life in North America
This course develops an understanding of contemporary North American Jewry using findings of social science. Social, cultural, political, and religious issues of concern to Jewish communities are analyzed, such as assimilation, intermarriage, Jewish identity, etc. …
AP/JWST 3917 6.00 Contemporary Jewish Life in North America
This course develops an understanding of contemporary North American Jewry using findings of social science. Social, cultural, political, and religious issues of concern to Jewish communities are analyzed, such as assimilation, intermarriage, Jewish identity, etc. …
AP/JWST 3918 6.00 Sephardi Jews of Muslim Lands
The meeting between Jews and Arabs in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict is famous. Less familiar is the encounter between Muslims and Jews in Muslim lands. This course explores Jewish life under Islam from …
AP/JWST 4000 3.00 Directed Reading
In any given year, a limited number of faculty members may be available to supervise a special program of study (for a limited number of students) equal in credit to one full or half course. …
AP/JWST 4000 6.00 Directed Reading
In any given year, a limited number of faculty members may be available to supervise a special program of study (for a limited number of students) equal in credit to one full or half course. …
AP/JWST 4040 6.00 Jewish Diasporas
This course uses a critical human rights approach to examine Jewish communities in a variety of historical and contemporary settings, including immigration experience, family life, culture and Identity.
AP/JWST 4045 3.00 Klezmer Ensemble
Practical performance instruction in the Klezmer musical tradition. Some performance ability and knowledge of fiddle, bass, guitar, piano, clarinet, sax, accordion, or trumpet is required. (Other instruments are welcomed). Prerequisite: None for 1045, appropriate lower …
AP/JWST 4100 6.00 Selected Problems in Israelite History
Problems in the determination of the international relations of the Israelite states in the Iron Age. Sources, written and unwritten, from Israel, Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt and Israel’s smaller neighbours will be examined in the course …
AP/JWST 4200 6.00 Advanced Modern Hebrew, Level II
An intensive course designed to acquaint students with advanced aspects of Hebrew grammar, to improve their reading skills and their ability to express themselves fluently in conversation and in written form. Not open to native …
AP/JWST 4334 3.00 Theatre of the Holocaust
Renowned scholar Robert Skloot suggests that Theatre of the Holocaust scripts can express their understanding of historical facts, and although the plays are not history, they would not stand apart from history. Holocaust plays and …
AP/JWST 4334 6.00 Theatre of the Holocaust
Renowned scholar Robert Skloot suggests that Theatre of the Holocaust scripts can express their understanding of historical facts, and although the plays are not history, they would not stand apart from history. Holocaust plays and …
AP/JWST 4581 6.00 Worry and Wonder: Jewish Politics, Society and Religion in Canada
This public history seminar explores the origins, development and paradoxes of the Canadian Jewish community from its inception in the 18th century to the present. It pays particular attention to the complexities of immigration, relationships …
AP/JWST 4631 3.00 Nazi-Art Crime, Theft, Recovery and Restitution
This seminar examines why, during the Nazi era, more than 5 million artworks illegally changed hands—a disproportionate number of them being works stolen from Jewish collectors—and how come it has been so challenging to restitute these …
AP/JWST 4710 3.00 Diaspora, Home, Nostalgia: Modern Jewish Women's Literature
What is “”Jewish”” and “”modern”” about modern Jewish women’s literature, and how does it reflect the experiences and perceptions of women? Examining a variety of literary genres, the course compares Israeli women’s literature with contemporary …
AP/JWST 4750 3.00 Gender and Sexuality in Jewish Life
This course offers an exploration of distinctive Jewish approaches to questions of gender, sexuality, and the body, as formulated in their historical, religious, ethical and social dimensions. While we begin our journey with Biblical and …
AP/JWST 4800K 3.00 Image Wars: Iconoclasm and Idolatry
Explores issues of image worship and destruction in several cultural contexts. Topics include: images as magic; fetish and taboo; Judaic, Christian and Muslim interpretations of the Second Commandment; the 9thc. Christian Iconoclastic Controversy; individual, state …
AP/JWST 4803 6.00 Church, Mosque and Synagogue: Jews, Muslims and Christians in Medieval Spain
The Muslim conquest of the Iberian peninsula in 711 inaugurated a complex trireligious society that was to endure nearly eight hundred years (and more than eight centuries on the Muslim lunar calendar). This development has …
This course is an historical and critical inquiry into the religious thought of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (1135-1204).
AP/JWST 4808 6.00 Sex and Violence in the Hebrew Bible
This course attempts a nuanced reading of texts dealing with sexuality and/or violence in the Hebrew Bible. The discussion focuses both on a contextual and on a contemporaneous reading of these texts. RESERVED SPACES: All …
AP/JWST 4809 6.00 The Hebrew Bible and the Literature of the Ancient Near East
Since the nineteenth century, it has become increasingly evident that the Hebrew Bible is a product of its world. The recovery and decipherment of literatures from Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Egypt, and the Levant have provided ample …
AP/JWST 4818 3.00 Shaping Jewish Memory: Meaning, Imagination, and Identity
This course explores how Jewish communities and individuals have remembered, interpreted and given meaning to the past to shape identity and values. It studies fiction, non-fiction, photographs, films, liturgy, and other vehicles of memory. Course …
AP/JWST 4819 3.00 Visions of the End: Early Jewish and Christian Apocalypticism
This course investigates the origins, development and continuing legacies of apocalypticism in ancient Judaism and in the history of Christianity. We will focus on understanding: (1) apocalyptic literature (biblical and nonbiblical, including 1 Enoch, Daniel, …
AP/JWST 4819 6.00 Visions of the End: Early Jewish and Christian Apocalypticism
This course investigates the origins, development and continuing legacies of apocalypticism in ancient Judaism and in the history of Christianity. We will focus on understanding: (1) apocalyptic literature (biblical and nonbiblical, including 1 Enoch, Daniel, …
AP/JWST 4820 3.00 Transformation of Jewish Thought and Culture
Jewish thought and culture are explored over a millennium (800-1800), focusing on transformations of the classical (biblical-rabbinic) legacy and interplay with the Islamic and Christian religio-cultural spheres in which they developed.
AP/JWST 4821 3.00 Culture, Society and Values in Israel
This course offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the values and cultures of Israel and their evolution, expression, and reflection in cultural production, social structures, politics and history.
AP/JWST 4822 3.00 Gender and Womanhood in Israel
This course offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the cultural and historical development of Israeli womanhood during the early years of statehood. It pays special attention to the evolution of values and cultures of domestic space …
AP/JWST 4823 3.00 Contemporary Israeli Society
This course analyzes diverse themes of global relevance as they manifest themselves in the context of Israeli state and society.RESERVED SPACES: All spaces reserved for Year 3 & 4 Humanities & Jewish Studies Majors and …
AP/JWST 4824 3.00 Imagining Anne Frank: The Girl, The Diary, the Afterlives
Almost seventy-five years ago, in June of 1942, Anne Frank penned her first entry into the red checkered diary that she had just received for her thirteenth birthday. By many estimates, Anne Frank’s The Diary …
AP/JWST 4827 3.00 Graeco-Roman, Biblical, and Early Christian Concepts of the Soul
This course explores concepts of soul from early Greek Civilization to the early Christian era. It examines a cluster of related concepts — soul, spirit, shade, consciousness, will, and mind – that express the self …
AP/JWST 4828 3.00 Complex Relationships in the Contemporary Culture of Israel
This course examines a collage of complex relationships and emergent cultural identities in Israel. Readings relate to Israel’s roots, cultural milieu, contemporary and classical literary canon. Readings, film subtitles, and analysis are in English, peppered …
AP/JWST 4900 3.00 Independent Reading and Research
A student may take an independent, individually supervised reading/research course, provided that the student and the course meet the requirements as set out by the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies and those established …