Carolina offers academic minors in Jewish Studies and Modern Hebrew for undergraduates.
Jewish Studies Minor
The minor in Jewish Studies is intended to provide students with an overview of the beliefs, culture, history and religion of Judaism and the Jewish peoples in interaction with surrounding cultures, from ancient times to the present, as well as an opportunity to become more knowledgeable about selected areas of the Jewish experience. All Minors are required to take a mandatory core course in Jewish Studies, JWST 100/RELI 123, Introduction to Jewish Studies.
Requirements for the Minor in Jewish Studies
The minor consists of five courses, which must be taken in at least two different departments. The minor requires the core course (JWST 100/RELI 123) and four other courses selected from the list below. Of these four courses, one must be a course numbered 400 or higher, and at least one must be pre-1750. Additions to this list must be approved by a faculty member who serves on the Planning Board of the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies. Only courses in Modern Hebrew at the 5th semester level or higher can count as courses toward the minor. Students minoring in both Jewish Studies and religious studies must use at least three JWST courses that are not cross-listed with RELI to complete the requirements for the minor in Jewish Studies.
Updated requirements in effect starting with the 2009-2010 academic year. For previous requirements, please click here.
| Dept. of American Studies | JWST 253/AMST 253/WMST 253 Jewish Women in America: A Social History; AMST 360 American Life and the Jewish Writer; JWST 486/AMST 486 Shalom Y’all: The Jewish Experience in the American South |
| Dept. of Asian Studies | HEBR 305 Advanced Modern Hebrew; HEBR 306 Advanced Modern Hebrew |
| Dept. of English and Comparative Literature | JWST 289/ENGL 289 American Jewish Literature |
| Dept.of Germanic Languages and Literatures | GERM 56 Germans, Jews, and the History of Antisemitism. (This course, a first-year seminar, may be taken either for minor credit or for general education credit, but not for both.); JWST 239/GERM 270/RELI 239/CMPL 270 German Culture and the Jewish Question |
| Dept. of History | JWST 262/HIST 262/PWAD 262 History of the Holocaust; ASIA 277/HIST 277/PWAD 277 The Conflict over Israel/Palestine |
| Dept. of Religious Studies | JWST 103/RELI 103 Introduction to Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (pre-1750); JWST 106/RELI 106 Introduction to Early Judaism (pre-1750); JWST 107/JWST 107 Introduction to Modern Judaism; RELI 109 History and Culture of Ancient Israel (pre-1750); JWST 110/RELI 110/CLAR 110 Archaeology of Palestine in the New Testament Period (pre-1750). RELI 205 Legends of Genesis (pre-1750); JWST 243/RELI 243 Judaism in America; JWST 206/RELI 206 Prophecy and Divination in Israel and Judah (pre-1750); JWST 143/RELI 143 Judaism In Our Time; JWST 343/RELI 343 Religion In Modern Israel; JWST 512/RELI 512/CLAR 512 Ancient Synagogues (pre-1750); JWST 444/RELI 444 Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Judaism; JWST 503/RELI 503 Exploring the Dead Sea Scrolls (pre-1750); JWST 602 RELI 602 What are the Holy Scriptures? The Formation of the Hebrew Canon (pre-1750); JWST 605/RELI 605 Joseph King of Dreams: Joseph in Bible and Tradition (pre-1750); RELI 608 The Messiah and the Apocalypse (pre-1750) |
| Dept. of Slavic Languages and Literatures | JWST 412/PLSH 412 Twentieth-Century Polish Culture; JWST 464/SLAV 464 Jews in Polish and Russian Literature; JWST 465/SLAV 465/PWAD 465 Literature of Atrocity: The Gulag and the Holocaust in Russian and East European Literature; JWST 469/SLAV 469 Coming to America: The Slavic Immigrant Experience in Literature |
Hebrew Minor
The minor in Hebrew was created due to interest expressed by many students who wanted to focus specifically on Modern Hebrew Language. Students declaring the Hebrew minor include International Studies majors with concentrations in the Middle East, Religious Studies majors, and those from a wide range of majors who desire a more in depth command of the Hebrew Language.
To minor in Modern Hebrew, students must take four courses:
- Three Modern Hebrew language courses above the 203 level**
- One content course from the list below
| AMST 253 [53]: Jewish Women in America |
| ENGL 289 [49J]: Jewish-American Literature and Culture of the Twentieth Century |
| GERM 056 [006I]: Germans, Jews, and the History of Antisemitism; GERM 270 [61]: German Culture and the Jewish Question |
| HIST 262 [50]: History of the Holocaust: The Destruction of the European Jews; HIST 276 [77A]: The Modern Middle East; HIST 277 [77B]: The Conflict over Israel/Palestine; HIST 538 [197]: The Middle East and the West |
| RELI 103 [21]: Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Literature; RELI 106 [24]: Introduction to Early Judaism; RELI 107 [34]: Introduction to Modern Judaism; RELI 110 [28]: The Archaeology of Palestine in the New Testament Period; RELI 205 [55]: Legends of Genesis; RELI 206 [57]: Prophecy and Divination in Ancient Israel and Judah; RELI 343 [79]: Religion in Modern Israel; RELI 401 [113]: Biblical Hebrew; RELI 402 [114]: Biblical Hebrew; RELI 403 [115]: Intermediate Classical Hebrew; RELI 404 [116]: Intermediate Classical Hebrew; RELI 503 [122]: Exploring the Dead Sea Scrolls; RELI 512 [111]: Ancient Synagogues; RELI 602 [126]: What are the Holy Scriptures? The Formation of the Hebrew Canon |
Overview of all courses in Hebrew
HEBR 101-102 [HEBR 1-2]. Elementary Modern Hebrew. The sequence 1,2 introduces the essential elements of modern Hebrew structure and vocabulary and aspects of modern Israeli culture. Aural comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing are stressed in that order.
HEBR 203-204 [HEBR 3-4]. Intermediate Modern Hebrew. Modern Hebrew 3,4 is a two-semester sequence designed to increase reading and writing skills. An introduction to representative literary works is included. Aural comprehension and speaking skills are also stressed.
HEBR 305-306 [HEBR 5-6]. Advanced Modern Hebrew. Students will read and analyze the literary works of well known Hebrew writers including Amos Oz, A.B. Yehoshua, Aharon Meged, Savyon Liebrecht, Yehuda Amichai, S.Y. Agnon, and others.
**The language courses for the minor are 204, 305, 306. What about HEBR 101, 102, 203? Those don’t count (technically) as minor courses, but if you are a beginner in Hebrew, obviously they would be necessary as a prerequisite before you could start taking language courses for the minor. So while it’s true that the minor requires four courses, since the minor courses have prerequisites, it’s also true that someone beginning in Hebrew would need to take 7 courses to finish the minor. HEBR 101, 102, 203 would count for the general College language requirement, and HEBR 204, 305, 306 would then count toward the minor.
If, on the other hand, you had prior Hebrew knowledge, and were able to place into 204, then you could just start right in on the minor courses. Students interested in the minor whose initial Hebrew placement is above 204 should consult with Lori Harris, leharris@email.unc.edu.