JWM4050 - Rethinking jewish community in Australia: policy and praxis

Leader(s): Melanie Landau

Offered

Caulfield First semester 2009 (Day)

Synopsis

This unit will survey a range of policy issues pertaining to Australian Jewish Life in the 21st century, utilising guest lecturers from various fields. Topics covered include: school and tertiary education; social cohesion, multiculturalism and Australia; interfaith dialogue; social and welfare issues including aging; philanthropy; Holocaust: future directions; forms of Jewish identification; the role of Israel in Australian Jewish life; communities in a global context; the arts and cultural production; social justice and the environment; leadership and management; dilemmas in Jewish leadership and models of leadership in Jewish sources.

Objectives

On successful completion of this unit students will be expected to:

1. be equipped with knowledge of Australian Jewish community in a broader Australian multicultural and interfaith context
2. be equipped with an awareness of the issues pertaining to the Australian Jewish community within the context of world Jewry and to understand the issues both particular to Australia but also in common with other Jewish communities around the world
3. have gained a theoretical background that will help them approach different issues facing both particular organizations and the community
4. have deepened their understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of their own policy making and practice
5. have been engaged in a collaborative learning community where they have and can continue to articulate their diverse perspectives in relation to the Jewish community and particular issues it faces
6. In addition, students studying at a fifth-year level will be expected to engage in reading materials in this and related subject matters critically.

Assessment

Class paper and presentation (2000 words): 15%
Journal (3000 words): 35%
Research essay (4000 words): 50%

Contact hours

One 3-hour seminar per week

Prohibitions

JWM5050