Director

Aharona Gazit-Rosenthal

Faculty

Aharona Gazit-Rosenthal
B.A., University of Haifa, 1998; M.A., 2000; Ph.D. University of Maryland, College Park, 2019

Michele I. Osherow
B.A., Carnegie Mellon University, 1988; M.A., University of Maryland, College Park, 1994; Ph.D., 2000

The Judaic Studies Minor     addresses the interests of students seeking an intellectual examination of the Jewish experience.

The interdisciplinary program provides a curriculum designed to build understandings of Judaism from historical, literary, social, cultural, religious, and philosophical perspectives. The curriculum allows students to organize their studies within several areas of concentration and to tailor the minor to their academic and career interests.

The minor program is structured into six areas of concentration: ancient Judaism, Jewish history: modern and contemporary, Holocaust studies, Judaic literature and language, Jewish religion and philosophy, and modern Israel. A listing of the courses within each area of concentration is available on the Judaic Studies website or from the director by emailing arosent1@umbc.edu.

Judaic Studies and Hebrew courses are taught by members of the UMBC faculty and by scholars, researchers, authors, rabbis, and artists from the Greater Baltimore-Washington area.

Career and Academic Paths

Students who minor in Judaic Studies have chosen careers in fields such as archaeology, historical research, education, social work, Jewish communal service, intercultural and international relations. The minor can be a useful adjunct to majors in Africana studies, American studies, ancient studies, history, English, modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communications, philosophy, political science, psychology, social work, sociology, and anthropology. Although a major is not offered by the program, students may design a major course of study focusing on Judaic studies within Individualized Study .

Academic Advising

The program director serves as an academic advisor to students selecting the minor. Students interested in the Judaic Studies Minor  are urged to meet with an academic advisor on a regular basis to discuss their plans and to learn of recent and planned developments in the program and special events.

Evening Offerings

At least one or two courses are usually offered in the evening each semester. However, not all courses are offered on an evening basis.

Student Organizations

The Jewish Student Union and UMBC Hillel are active on the UMBC campus. Neither is formally associated with the Judaic Studies Program.

Special Opportunities

Opportunities for study abroad are available. In some cases, students have spent their first years studying in Israel while maintaining enrollment at UMBC. In other cases, students have gone abroad for one or two semesters in their junior year. Study abroad projects can also be arranged for the winter and summer sessions. To ensure the maximum transfer of overseas course credit to UMBC, and to the Judaic Studies Program, prior planning with the Education Abroad Office is urged. JDST 400 - Special Study or Project in Judaic Studies (1-3)  provides students the opportunity to extend and apply their knowledge in a research, internship, or supervised study experience. The Greater Baltimore-Washington area offers a variety of settings and opportunities for research and internships, including the Jewish Museum of Maryland, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the B’nai B’rith Klutznick Museum in Washington, D.C., and various community research, social service, and advocacy agencies in Baltimore such as the Baltimore Jewish Council.

Programs

• Judaic Studies Minor

Courses

• JDST 100 - Introduction to Judaic Studies (3)
• JDST 200 - Israel and the Ancient Near East (3)
• JDST 201 - Judaism in the Time of Jesus and Hillel (3)
• JDST 230 - Introduction to the Jewish Bible (TaNaKH) (3)
• JDST 273 - History of the Jews in Modern Times, From the Middle Ages to 1917 (3)
• JDST 274 - Contemporary Jewish History: 1917 to the Present (3)
• JDST 290 - Topics in Judaic Studies (3)
• JDST 310 - Modern Israel: The Land, Its People, Culture, and Society (3)
• JDST 311 - Modern Israel in Film (3)
• JDST 320 - Literature of the Holocaust (3)
• JDST 321 - Jewish Writing in World Literature (3)
• JDST 323 - Modern Hebrew Literature (3)
• JDST 330 - Jewish Ethics (3)
• JDST 340 - Origins of Antisemitism (3)
• JDST 370 - History of the Jews in the United States (3)
• JDST 371 - The Jewish American Experience in Film (3)
• JDST 373 - History of the Holocaust (3)
• JDST 373H - History of the Holocaust (3)
• JDST 390 - Topics in Judaic Studies (3)
• JDST 400 - Special Study or Project in Judaic Studies (1-3)
• JDST 410 - Dynamics of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (3)
• JDST 463 - Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Middle Ages (3)
• JDST 490 - Topics in Judaic Studies (1-4)