Spring 2003 Judaic Studies offerings

Spring term courses begin the week of March 31, 2003 and end the week of June 2, 2003. Registration and fee information for credit or noncredit enrollment are available at 503 725 4832. Full course descriptions are available from the instructor.

Examination of the ideology and practice of terrorism and counter-terrorism with attention to their social, psychological, religious, political, and economic dynamics.

Survey of Middle Eastern social and cultural structures with attention to the influences of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.

Part of PSU's Leadership for Change Cluster, the course surveys religious roots of ethical decision-making involving such concerns as personal relations, environment, and social reform. Contemporary examples of such leadership and work with local leaders are featured.

Changes in the representation of the immigrant experience. The course examines literature and film as avenues through which immigrant communities explore and debate the inevitable dislocation and loss. Includes work by Anzya Yezierska, Isaac Beshevis Singer, and Eva Hoffman.

Representations, testimonies, and analyses of Holocaust and genocide in the past century through fiction, poetry, essays, and film.

Diversity of female experiences and "feminisms" in the contemporary Middle East, focusing on family, law, education, and work in Egypt, Turkey and Iran. Student projects may focus on other cases to broaden understanding of women's national, religious, or ethnic experiences in the region.

Spatial and social approach to the modern Middle East, addressing economic and political transformation of the region.

Third in a three-course sequence for study of grammar and syntax, intermediate literary texts, writing, and speaking. Prerequisite: Hebrew 202 or equivalent.

The course reviews the 19th and 20th century history of the people of Palestine and Israel with attention to major cultural, socioeconomic, and political transformations. Surveys a range of interpretations by contemporary scholars.

A survey of spirituality in major religious traditions including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism.

International Studies 247A Middle East Studies
Tuesday/Thursday 3:30 -- 4:45
Jon Mandaville
Ch 228
CRN 61428

An interdisciplinary introduction to the societies and cultures of the modern Middle East.