JWC2040

Judaism and modernity

Bernard Rechter

8 points
* One 2-hour seminar and 1 tutorial per week
* Second semester
* Clayton
* No prerequisite

Objectives This survey course aims to introduce students to the intersection of traditional Jewish wisdom and modern scholarship. By the end of the subject, students should have a firm grasp of a range of Jewish responses to modernity and the ability to evaluate critically the transmutation of the one tradition by the other.

Synopsis This subject will examine literary, philosophical and historical fragments which encapsulate the encounter between Judaism and modernity. It begins with an examination of the influence of kabbalah on several modern Jewish writers such as Franz Kafka, Walter Benjamin and Harold Bloom. It then investigates the exchange between Jewish philosophy and contemporary Western philosophy through the works of Martin Buber and Emmanuel Levinas. Finally, the impact of the Holocaust upon Jewish and Western thought will be looked at through the philosophy of Emil Fackenheim.

Assessment Seminar paper, prepared orally and in writing (1000 words): 20%
* Essay (3000 words): 40%
* Examination (2000 words): 40%

Recommended reading

Scholem G Major trends in Jewish mysticism Schocken Books, 1974
Yerushalmi YH Zakhor. Jewish history and Jewish memory Washington U P, 1996
Mendes Flohr P Divided passions Wayne State U P, 1991
Handleman S Fragments of redemption. Jewish thought and literary theory in Benjamin, Scholem and Levinas Indiana U P, 1991