University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Curriculum Proposal Form #3
New Course
Effective Term:
2151 (Spring 2015)
Subject Area - Course Number: RELIGST 222
Cross-listing:
(See Note #1 below)
Course Title: (Limited to 65 characters)
Introduction to Judaism
25-Character Abbreviation:
Introduction to Judaism
Sponsor(s):
David Simmons
Department(s):
Philosophy & Religious Studies
College(s):
Letters and Sciences
Consultation took place:
NA
Programs Affected:
Yes (list departments and attach consultation sheet)
Departments:
World Religions minor
Is paperwork complete for those programs? (Use "Form 2" for Catalog & Academic Report updates)
NA
Yes
Prerequisites:
will be at future meeting
none
Grade Basis:
Conventional Letter
S/NC or Pass/Fail
Course will be offered:
Part of Load
On Campus
Above Load
Off Campus - Location
College:
Letters and Sciences
Instructor:
David Simmons
Dept/Area(s): Philosophy & Religious Studies
Note: If the course is dual-listed, instructor must be a member of Grad Faculty.
Check if the Course is to Meet Any of the Following:
Technological Literacy Requirement
Diversity
Writing Requirement
General Education Option: GH
Note: For the Gen Ed option, the proposal should address how this course relates to specific core courses, meets the goals of General Education in
providing breadth, and incorporates scholarship in the appropriate field relating to women and gender.
Credit/Contact Hours: (per semester)
Total lab hours:
Number of credits:
0
3
Total lecture hours:
Total contact hours:
48
48
Can course be taken more than once for credit? (Repeatability)
No
Yes
If "Yes", answer the following questions:
No of times in major:
No of times in degree:
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No of credits in major:
No of credits in degree:
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Proposal Information: (Procedures for form #3)
Course justification:
This course provides a basic introduction to the history, traditions, and contemporary practice of the
earliest of the world’s “Abrahamic” religions: Judaism—encouraging a deeper engagement with one of the
religions of the Western tradition. In the ongoing program of Religious Studies curricular revisions that
received their final approval in the Spring 2014 semester, Introduction to Judaism will be part of the group
of 200-level Religious Studies courses focused on different world religions. For students in RELIGST 112
(formerly 212), Introduction to Western Religions, Judaism is probably the least “visible” and familiar of
the three religions that trace their lineage back to Abraham (including Christianity and Islam), in part
because of the largely Christian religious culture of Wisconsin and contemporary media attention to Islam
(for good or ill). Students are therefore quite curious about Judaism and eager to deepen their
understanding of it. Moreover, other than SOCIOLGY 388 (=RELIGST 388, THE HOLOCAUST: NAZI
GERMANY & THE GENOCIDE OF THE JEWS), there are currently no courses offered at UW-Whitewater
that focus on Judaism or any other aspect of Jewish experience—despite the fact that there is an active
Jewish community on campus represented by the Jewish Students Organization. This course supports the
university’s core value “to develop a sense of community, respect for diversity, and global perspectives” as
well as the university’s mission in support of interdisciplinary education.
Relationship to program assessment objectives:
The program objectives of the World Religions minor are:
1) gain a basic understanding of the world’s major religious traditions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam,
Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, and Shinto
2) be able to describe the historical origins, key dates, philosophies, practices, ethics, symbols and
major thinkers in these traditions
3) be able to summarize the fundamental teachings of these traditions
4) be able to critically appraise the relationship between religious traditions and their social and
cultural contexts
5) be able to recognize the diversity of philosophies and practices within the major religious
traditions
6) be able to analyze religious writings, symbols, and practices using recognized scholarly and
hermeneutical principles
7) be able to recognize presuppositions underlying different ethical systems and worldviews,
including students’ own
Teaching an introductory course to a religion as ancient and diverse as Judaism is a tall order, since it
incorporates all seven of the World Religions minor’s program objectives! As an overview, the course will
focus primarily on helping students achieve Objectives 1-5. While the task of surveying a variety of
expressions of Jewish thought and practice in different historical and cultural contexts (Objectives 4 and 5)
precludes the kind of sustained analysis of writings, symbols and practices (Objective 6) that would be
more typical of a course focusing on one corpus of religious texts (RELIGST 252, The Bible as Literature)
or a single theme (RELIGST 340, Evil and Religion), the primary sources of Jewish tradition (the Hebrew
Bible, Talmud, Zohar, etc.) will be the subject of some reflection. Finally, the engagement with a Western
religion that has had no small influence on contemporary culture, and that is both closely related but in no
sense identical to a dominant Christian tradition, will also involve the student’s recognition of differences
to their own presuppositions about ethics and worldview (Objective 7).
Relationship to the Goals of General Education: This course presents students with the opportunity to
read, engage, analyze, and discuss a range of primary texts and secondary scholarship from various
disciplines in order to lead students to an informed understanding of the diverse forms in which a religion
such as Judaism can manifest itself in different times and places; the history of Judaism’s confrontation
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with the fundamental questions of human existence; the impact of the student’s own cultural heritage on
these cultures and themselves, and the relationship between each of these. As a result, students will be
explicitly prompted to “think critically and analytically integrate and synthesize knowledge, and draw
conclusions from complex information” (Goal 1); “to understand and appreciate the cultural diversity of
the U.S. and other contries, and live responsibly in an interdependent world” (Goal 3); “to acquire a base
of knowledge common to educated persons and the capacity to expand that basis over their lifetimes”
(Goal 4); “to communicate effectively in written, oral, and symbolic form” (Goal 5); and to develop the
skills necessary to “make sound ethical and value judgments based on the development of a person value
system, on an understanding of shared cultural heritage, and knowledge of past success, failures, and
consequences of individual roles and societal choices” (Goal 2). As a course that fosters a deeper
understanding of the complexities of a single religion, the central focus is the improvement of the thinking,
reasoning, and problem solving skills of each student to enhance the curriculum of the General Education
Program.
Relationship to the Core General Education Courses: As a course that traces the historical
development of Jewish traditions from their origins, employs a variety of methodological approaches to the
study of religion, and interprets religious, philosophical and mystical texts, Introduction to Judaism has the
closest ties to the inderdisciplinary World of Ideas. To the extent that these Jewish traditions arose out of
or responded to catastrophic changes in social practices and institutions that demanded repeated revisions
in the understanding of Jewish identity, the course also helps students think about relationships between
Individual and Society. A survey of the development of Judaism, from its origins in the Late Bronze Age
ca. 1800 BCE in the Ancient Near East to the present, promotes an appreciation of historical circumstances
and the development of cultural values (Historical Perspectives).
Relationship to Scholarship on Women and Gender: Contemporary controversies surrounding the
status of women in society, the role of women in marriage and family, homosexuality and same-sex
marriage, and the naturalization of gender and sex differences are all conditioned and framed to a large
degree by the Western cultural reception of the Hebrew scriptures whose interpretation forms the basis of
Jewish traditions throughout history. Any examination of Hebrew Bible interpretation from antiquity and
the classical Rabbinic texts, to the contemporary debates about gender segregration in present-day
Orthodox Jewish communities around the world, will involve some discussion of the voluminous
scholarship on women and gender in Judaism, patriarchy in the Hebrew Bible and the Rabbinate, feminist
biblical interpretation, and feminist study of Judaism. Dr. Richard Brooks, Professor Emeritus of Religious
Studies, has also prepared a comprehensive bibliography on women in Judaism and women in the Bible
for his Women and Religion course, comprising more than 200 titles, many of which are available in the
Andersen Library. Moreover, one week of the course will be devoted to Jewish feminism in contemporary
practice.
Budgetary impact:
Minimal. This course will become part of the instructor’s regular rotation. It will not affect the number of
World of Ideas sections taught. Current library resources—not only in the Andersen Library, but the
Philosophy & Religious Studies Library, which houses the collection of the Jewish Students
Organization—are sufficient for this course.
Course description: (50 word limit)
A basic introduction to Judaism, this course explores Jewish traditions from their origins in ancient
Israelite religion; Rabbinic Judaism; Jewish philosophy and mysticism; contemporary Jewish movements;
the primary texts of Judaism; and the religious experience, values, beliefs, practices, and symbols of a
variety of “Judaisms” throughout the world.
If dual listed, list graduate level requirements for the following:
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1. Content (e.g., What are additional presentation/project requirements?)
2. Intensity (e.g., How are the processes and standards of evaluation different for graduates and
undergraduates? )
3. Self-Directed (e.g., How are research expectations differ for graduates and undergraduates?)
Course objectives and tentative course syllabus:
Course objectives:
Students will be able to
 gain a basic understanding of one of the world’s major religious traditions: Judaism
 describe the historical origins, key dates, philosophies, practices, ethics, symbols and major
thinkers in Judaism
 summarize the fundamental teachings of several Jewish traditions
 critically appraise the relationship between Jewish traditions and their social and cultural contexts
 recognize the diversity of philosophies and practices within Judaism
 recognize the primary religious, philosophical, and mystical writings of Judaism
 recognize presuppositions underlying different ethical systems and worldviews, including
students’ own
Tentative course syllabus:
Week 1 Introduction: Contemporary Practice and the “Enchantments” of Judaism
Week 2 The Tanakh: Hebrew Scripture and Ancient Israelite Religion
Week 3 Second Temple Judaism: Ezra and the Foundations of Judaism
Week 4 The Origins of Rabbinic Judaism
Week 5 Rabbinic Interpretation of Torah: Talmud and Midrash
Week 6 Exam #1
Diaspora Judaism I: The Sephardim, 70–1492 CE
Week 7 Jewish Philosophy I: Moses Maimonides
Week 8 Jewish Mysticism: Kabbalah and the Zohar
Week 9 Jewish Philosophy II: Franz Rosenzweig
Week 10 Diaspora Judaism II: The Ashkenazim, 1492–20th century
Week 11 Judaism in Modernity: Spinoza, Moses Mendelssohn, and Emancipation
Week 12 Judaism in America: Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist
Week 13 Judaism in the 20th Century: the Holocaust, Zionism, and Israel
Week 14 Jewish Feminism
Week 15 Conclusion: Judaism and “Judaisms”
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Week 16 Final Exam
Bibliography: (Key or essential references only. Normally the bibliography should be no more than one or two
pages in length.)
NB: There are extensive resources for the study of Judaism on campus, both in the Andersen Library and
the Philosophy & Religious Studies Library, which houses the collection of the Jewish Students
Organization and the Encyclopedia Judaica. Dr. Richard Brooks has also compiled a comprehensive
bibliography pertaining to Women and Religion, with subject areas in Women in Judaism and Women in
the Bible.
The following works may serve either as textbooks or resources for course readings:
Judith R. Baskin and Kenneth Seeskin, eds., The Cambridge Guide to Jewish History, Religion, and
Culture (Cambridge, 2010)
George Robinson, Essential Judaism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs, Customs, and Rituals (Pocket Books,
2000)
Philip S. Alexander, ed., Textual Sources for the Study of Judaism (University of Chicago, 1984)
Other works:
H .H. Ben-Sasson, ed., A History of the Jewish People (Harvard University, 1976)
John Bright, A History of Israel, 4th ed. (Westminster John Knox, 2000)
Lynn Davidman and Shelley Tenenbaum, eds. Feminist Perspectives on Jewish Studies (Yale, 1994)
Joel L. Kraemer, Maimonides (Doubleday, 2008)
Tikva Frymer-Kensky, Reading the Women of the Bible (Schocken Books, 2002)
Moses Maimonides, The Guide of the Perplexed, 2 vols. (University of Chicago, 1963)
Paul Mendes-Flohr, The Philosophy of Franz Rosenzweig (Brandeis, 1988)
Jacob Neusner, The Enchantments of Judaism (Basic Books, 1987)
Jacob Neusner, Rabbinic Judaism: The Theological System (Brill, 2002)
Jacob Neusner, The Way of Torah: An Introduction to Judaism (Wadsworth, 1998)
Judith Plaskow, Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective (HarperCollins, 1991)
Franz Rosenzweig, The Star of Redemption (University of Wisconsin, 2005)
Lawrence H. Schiffman, A History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism (Ktav Publishing, 1991)
Gershom Sholem, On the Kabbalah and its Symbolism (Schocken Books, 1996)
Gershom Sholem, Zohar: Basic Readings from the Kabbalah (Schocken Books, 1963)
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J. Alberto Soggin, A History of Ancient Israel (Westminster, 1985)
H. L. Strack and Günter Stemberger, eds. Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash (Fortress Press, 1996)
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is dedicated to a safe, supportive and non-discriminatory learning
environment. It is the responsibility of all undergraduate and graduate students to familiarize themselves with
University policies regarding Special Accommodations, Academic Misconduct, Religious Beliefs Accommodation,
Discrimination and Absence for University Sponsored Events (for details please refer to the Schedule of Classes; the
“Rights and Responsibilities” section of the Undergraduate Catalog; the Academic Requirements and Policies and
the Facilities and Services sections of the Graduate Catalog; and the “Student Academic Disciplinary Procedures
(UWS Chapter 14); and the “Student Nonacademic Disciplinary Procedures" (UWS Chapter 17).
Course Objectives and tentative course syllabus with mandatory information (paste syllabus
below):
Introduction to Judaism
Course Instructor:
Office:
Office Hours:
RELIGST 222
David Simmons
Laurentide Hall, Room 4213
Wednesdays 10:00 AM–1:00 PM
Tu/Th, 2:00–3:00 PM
simmonsd@uww.edu
Office Phone: 472-1232
other times by appointment
Course Description
This course provides a basic introduction to the history, traditions, and contemporary practice of
Judaism. We will examine the development of Jewish traditions from their origins in ancient
Israelite religion; the emergence of Rabbinic Judaism in classical antiquity; the philosophical and
mystical innovations of the Middle Ages and early modernity; contemporary Jewish movements;
the primary texts of these Jewish traditions (such as the Hebrew Bible, Talmud, and Zohar); and
explore the religious experience, values, beliefs, practices, and symbols of a variety of
“Judaisms” throughout the world.
Course Objectives
This course will enhance students' ability to do the following:
 gain a basic understanding of one of the world’s major religious traditions: Judaism
 describe the historical origins, key dates, philosophies, practices, ethics, symbols and
major thinkers in Judaism
 summarize the fundamental teachings of several Jewish traditions
 critically appraise the relationship between Jewish traditions and their social and cultural
contexts
 recognize the diversity of philosophies and practices within Judaism
 recognize the primary religious, philosophical, and mystical writings of Judaism
 recognize presuppositions underlying different ethical systems and worldviews, including
students’ own
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Course requirements and grading
Course grades will be based on attendance and participation (15%); short reflection papers
(20%); two exams (20% each) and one project (25%)—either a class presentation or short
research paper of no fewer than five but no more than seven pages, typed and double-spaced (see
below).
A: 100-95; A-: 94-90
B+: 89-87; B: 86-83; B-: 82-80
C+: 79-77; C: 76-73; C-: 72-70
D: 69-60
F: 59 and below
The grading system and criteria for evaluation will be posted on D2L discussed in detail as
the course proceeds.
Tentative course outline:
Week 1 Introduction: Contemporary Practice and the “Enchantments” of Judaism
Week 2 The Tanakh: Hebrew Scripture and Ancient Israelite Religion
Week 3 Second Temple Judaism: Ezra and the Foundations of Judaism
Week 4 The Origins of Rabbinic Judaism
Week 5 Rabbinic Interpretation of Torah: Talmud and Midrash
Week 6 Exam #1
Diaspora Judaism I: The Sephardim, 70–1492 CE
Week 7 Jewish Philosophy I: Moses Maimonides
Week 8 Jewish Mysticism: Kabbalah and the Zohar
Week 9 Jewish Philosophy II: Franz Rosenzweig
Week 10 Diaspora Judaism II: The Ashkenazim, 1492–20th century
Week 11 Judaism in Modernity: Spinoza, Moses Mendelssohn, and Emancipation
Week 12 Judaism in America: Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist
Week 13 Judaism in the 20th Century: the Holocaust, Zionism, and Israel
Week 14 Jewish Feminism
Week 15 Conclusion: Judaism and “Judaisms”
Week 16 Final Exam
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Course policies
Individual project: After the first exam, you will begin focusing on an aspect of the Jewish tradition that you find
especially interesting. Your individual project allows you to explore your interest in greater depth. This may be done
through additional reading, a visit to a local synagogue center or participation in a Jewish festival (such as Purim or
Passover), interview with someone of Jewish heritage, analysis of a TV series, etc. Details to follow.
Attendance and Participation: You are expected to attend all scheduled class sessions prepared to discuss the reading
assignment for that day. Sleeping, social networking, texting, or other disruptions during class may be counted
as absences. Unexcused absences and repeated tardiness count against your attendance and participation grade.
Class discussion will be dependent on your preparation and willingness to contribute your thoughts and ideas. If you
do not do the reading assignments and avoid class discussion, this may detract from the grade you get for attendance
and participation.
Excused Absences: If you miss a scheduled class for any reason, you will be excused for the absence only upon
submission of a written summary (2 pages) of the reading assignment for that day. Summaries for each class you
miss will be due at the beginning of the next class you are able to attend. There will be no exceptions and no
extensions for the submission of summaries.
Plagiarism: Failure to properly attribute your sources for original work, deliberately or not, is academically dishonest
and intellectually lazy. You are expected to know what plagiarism is and how to avoid it – if you are unsure of what
constitutes plagiarism, please ask either the instructor or a university librarian. Plagiarism will not be tolerated in
this class. New technology has made it much easier to detect instances of plagiarism, and if you are caught
plagiarizing material for your papers you may fail the course.
“One Favor” Policy: If you find yourself in a situation where you need to ask me to make an exception to any of the
above, choose wisely.
University policies
The University of Wisconsin—Whitewater is dedicated to a safe, supportive and non-discriminatory learning
environment. It is the responsibility of all undergraduate and graduate students to familiarize themselves with
University policies regarding Special Accommodations, Academic Misconduct, Religious Beliefs Accommodation,
Discrimination and Absence for University Sponsored Events (for details please refer to the Schedule of Classes; the
“Rights and Responsibilities” section of the Undergraduate Catalog; the Academic Requirements and Policies and
the Facilities and Services sections of the Graduate Catalog; and the “Student Academic Disciplinary Procedures”
(UWS Chapter 14); and the “Student Nonacademic Disciplinary Procedures” (UWS Chapter 17)).
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