Introduction to Research and Writing in Jewish Studies

Catalog description

This course will introduce students to the basic practices that scholars use when researching, planning, and writing research papers. Furthermore, students taking this class will become familiar with the standards and expectations related to crafting undergraduate research essays. Together as a class, we will learn how to formulate scholarly questions, plan how to answer these inquiries, explore the range of relevant primary and secondary sources available on the subject, and strategize how best to tell the story you have discovered through the format of a scholarly essay. Throughout the semester, students will improve at reading and writing in a scholarly fashion, meaning reading scholarship in an efficient manner and mastering the various components of an analytical essay. Students will also be introduced to some of the major writers and thinkers in the field of Jewish Studies and be prompted to begin thinking about translating the skills from this course into crafting a substantial research assignment.