Topics in Archaeology

Catalog description

Study of a selected topics in Hebrew and Judaic Studies, with careful attention to literary and cultural problems. This includes analysis of major texts and issues in the field. Topics may vary from History of Jewish Languages to Violence, Sex and Culture in Biblical Israel, and more. Example: History of Jewish Languages Around the world, wherever Jews have lived, they have spoken and written somewhat differently from the non-Jews around them. Their languages have differed by as little as the addition of a few Hebrew words or by so much that they are largely "unintelligible" to outsiders. This class explores this spectrum of Jewish linguistic practice, including languages like Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Spanish and Yiddish, as well as the use of Yiddish words among secular Jews in America or Jewish Russian spoken in Israel today. The course uses sociolinguistic methods and emphasized the connection between Language and Religion.