Jewish civilisation before the modern era
Proposed to be offered next in 1996
8 points * 2 lectures and 1 tutorial per week * Clayton * Note: Students wishing to take this subject without having taken a first-year history sequence may do so by enrolling under JWC or RLT numbers - see entries under Jewish civilisation or religion and theology, or with permission from the head of the History department
Beginning at the time of the ancient civilisations of Egypt and Babylonia, Jewish civilisation has unfolded over 3000 years up to the present, and has produced ideals that have influenced the whole of humanity. This subject explores the formative Biblical period in terms of recent scholarship, the Second Commonwealth and Talmudic periods in which post-Biblical Judaism was formed, and the history of the Jews in Christian, Muslim and other lands up to the early modern period. Socio-political and economic factors will be considered together with the development of religious and cultural values in antiquity, the crystalisation of Rabbinic Judaism, the development of mystical and philosophical systems in the middle ages, and the various forms Jewish community life took in its interaction with Christian and Muslim cultures.
Assessment
Short essay (1000 words): 15% * Long essay (3000 words): 40% * Examination (2 hours): 40% * Tutorial (1 oral presentation based on the short essay): 5%
Prescribed text
Seltzer R Jewish people, Jewish thought Macmillan, 1980
Recommended texts
Ben-Sasson H H and Ettinger S (eds) A history of the Jewish people Harvard UP, 1976
Green A (ed.) Jewish spirituality 2 vols Crossroad, 1989
Holtz B W (ed.) Back to the sources: Reading the classic Jewish texts Summit Books, 1984
Schechter S Aspects of Rabbinic theology Schocken, 1961
Scholem G Major trends in Jewish mysticism Schocken, 1961