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Tentative Syllabus
Jews and Medicine
563:228
Instructor: Dr. Hilit Surowitz-Israel
E-mail: hilit@rci.rutgers.edu
Course Description: This course will explore the relationship between Jews and
medicine from the medieval to the modern periods. Jews and the profession of medicine
have long been linked, which has resulted in an abundance of stereotypes, folklore, and
popular culture about the figure of the “Jewish doctor.” This course allow us to explore
how this figure developed, the role it played in the popular imagination, and what this
meant for Jews, and their engagement with medicine. Rather than focusing on the more
commonly cited “great Jewish physicians,” we will explore the relationship between Jews
and medicine as it unfolds historically. Of particular interest are those moments and
places where questions of Jewishness and Judaism are relevant to the question of
medicine, the ability of Jews to practice medicine, and the development of the field of
medicine. Though this is not a course on disease and health, these topics are relevant and
will be part of our broader discussion.
If university funding is awarded, we will visit the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, which
is America’s premier museum of medical history.
Objectives: By the conclusion of the course participants should be able to:
 Analyze key texts and ideas about the role of Jews and medicine,
 Demonstrate familiarity with major themes in the development of the field of medicine,
and questions regarding the intersection of Jews, Judaism, and medicine,
 Demonstrate familiarity with the transformation of the field of medicine and ideas of
the body,
 Analyze the role and impact of the Jewish physician in various societies and periods.
The Required Text for the course:
Textbooks are available at the Rutgers Bookstore, a Barnes & Noble College Bookstore.
 Joseph Shatzmiller, Jews, Medicine, and Medieval Society, (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1994). ISBN# 0520080599
 All other articles and primary sources will be available on SAKAI.
 Other readings or media may be assigned during the course of the semester.
Student Assessment:
Attendance & Participation
Students are expected to attend each class on time. Attendance will be taken at each class
meeting. You are permitted three unexcused absences. Following the third unexcused
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Tentative Syllabus
absence 1/3 of a letter grade will be deducted for each unexcused absence. Students who
encounter any extended problem with absences, for example, for medical or family
emergencies, or religious reasons, must inform me in writing about the reason and
duration of the absence. Decisions on excused absences will be made on a case-by-case
basis.
Short quizzes may be given on a regular basis. There will be no make-ups for in-class
quizzes or exams.
Student participation is an integral component for the success of this class. Course
participants will be expected to arrive to class on time, and prepared to discuss the
assigned readings. Please bring assigned readings to class as we will frequently
consult the text, particularly the primary sources. Participation not only means asking
questions and involving oneself in the classroom discussion, it also means actively
listening to others.
Requirements:
All course components must be completed in order to receive a passing grade in the
course.
 Participation, in-class assignments, pop quizzes (10%)
 In-class midterm exam (25%)
 Essay 1 (20%)
 Essay 2 (20%)
 Final exam (25%)
 All students must come to office hours at least once during the semester.
Written work will be graded on the basis of content, clarity of argument, quality of
writing, and how well it analyzes the material and answers the questions. Written work,
except for that which is a classroom assignment, must be typed (double-spaced, 12 pt.
font), and spell-checked. One letter grade per day will be deducted for late papers unless
you have a written medical excuse.
Classroom Policies:
 Plagiarism and cheating will be penalized according to the full extent of
University policy. Please consult Rutgers University’s Policy on Academic Integrity
for Undergraduate and Graduate Students:
http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/integrity.shtml#plagiarism
 Students with disabilities who require accommodations should provide me with
their “accommodation letter” from the Office of Disability Services as soon as
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possible so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Please consult the website of
the Office of Disability Services for further information:
http://sas.rutgers.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=135&Itemid=1
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 Note that I do not accept assignments submitted by email. All assignments must be
submitted in hard-copy on the day that they are due.
 Evaluations will cover all course material, even if it is not specifically covered in
class.
SCHEDULE OF READINGS
Week 1:
This week will provide an overview of the course and an introduction to the relationship
between Jews and the medicine.
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Garrison H. Fielding, “The Mohammedan and Jewish Periods” in An introduction
to the history of medicine: with medical chronology, suggestions for study and
bibliographic data, (Saunders, 1921).
Week 2:
An introduction to the body in popular western tradition, and the transition from the
divine to human body.
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Primary source: Hebrew Bible: Genesis1:26-1:31, 2:4-2:25, 17:1-9; Exodus 13:113:16; Leviticus 26:9-27:28; Deuteronomy 28:49-62
Primary source: Hippocrates, The Nature of Man, pgs. 43-48, from Rothman,
David J., Marcus Stevens, and Stephanie A. Kiceluk. 1995. Medicine in Western
Civilization. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. (MWC)
Primary source: excerpts from Paracelsus, Volumen Medicinae Paramirum, pgs.
23-32, from MWC
Week 3:
This week we will begin our study of Jews and Medicine in the medieval period.
Primarily drawing from the work of Joseph Shatzmiller we will survey the role of Jews,
and ideas about Jews in medicine in medieval Europe.
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Joseph Shatzmiller, “Jews and the Medicalization of Society in the Middle Ages”
and “Making of the Jewish Doctor,” in Jews, Medicine, and Medieval society,
(University of California Press, 1994).
John M. Efron, “The Emergence of the Medieval Jewish Physician,” in Medicine
and the German Jews: A History, (Yale University Press, 2001), pgs. 13-33
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Week 4:
Jews and Medicine in the medieval period continued.
- Joseph Shatzmiller, “Hebrew Medical Library” and “Reputation: Brilliant
Medical Careers,” in Jews, Medicine, and Medieval society, (University of
California Press, 1994).
- Primary Source: excerpts from Arnald of Villanova, On the Precautions that
Physicians Must Observe, from MWS, pgs. 23-32
Week 5:
Jews and Medicine in the medieval period continued.
- Joseph Shatzmiller, “Rejection: Apprehension about Jewish Doctors,” in Jews,
Medicine, and Medieval society, (University of California Press, 1994).
- In-class Film with guided questions: "Dance of the Vampires" directed by Roman
Polanski
Week 6:
Jews and Medicine in the medieval period continued.
- Joseph Shatzmiller, “Jewish Doctors in the Medieval City: Numbers and Status,”
“Private Practice: Doctors and Patients in Daily Encounters,” and “Conclusion,”
in Jews, Medicine, and Medieval society, (University of California Press, 1994).
Week 7:
Over the course of the next three weeks we will explore the relationship between Jews
and medicine in early modern Europe. We will focus on the rise of scientific inquiry and
discovery, the formation of medicine as a Jewish profession, and the role of the
Enlightenment thought.
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David B. Ruderman, “Medieval Jewish Attitudes toward Nature and Scientific
Activity” and “Legitimation of Scientific Activity Among Central and Eastern
European Jews,” in Jewish Thought and Scientific Discovery in Early Modern
Europe, (Yale University Press, 1995).
Primary source: excerpts from Andreas Vesalius, The Fabric of the Human Body,
(1543) from MWC, pgs. 54-60
Primary source: excerpts from Baldasar Heseler, Andreas Vesalius’ First Public
Anatomy at Bologna, 1540: An Eyewitness Report, from MWC, pgs. 61-65.
Week 8:
- David B. Ruderman, “Padua and the Formation of a Jewish Medical Community
in Italy,” and “Community of Converso Physicians: Race, Medicine, and the
Shaping of a Cultural Identity,” in Jewish Thought and Scientific Discovery in
Early Modern Europe, (Yale University Press, 1995).
- Primary source: excerpts from Felix Platter, Journal, (1554), from MWC,
pgs. 66-68.
- Primary Source: excerpts from William Harvey, An Anatomical Study on the
Motion of the Heart and the Blood in Animals, (1628), from MWC, pgs. 68-75.
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Week 9:
- John M. Efron, “Haskalah and Healing: Jewish Medicine in the Age of
Enlightenment,” in Medicine and the German Jews: A History, (Yale University
Press, 2001), pgs. 64-104.
- Medicine as Enlightenment Cure: Benedetto Frizzi, Physician to EighteenthCentury Italian Jewish Society Dubin, Lois. Jewish History. Feb2012, Vol. 26
Issue 1/2, p201-221.
Week 10:
The final four weeks of the course will focus on the relationship between Jews and
medicine in the modern period, with a particular emphasis on health, the Jewish
physician, and the emergence of race-science.
- John M. Efron, “The Jewish Body Degenerate?,” in Medicine and the German
Jews: A History, (Yale University Press, 2001), pgs. 105-150.
- Mitzvah and Medicine: Gender, Assimilation, and the Scientific Defense of
‘Family Purity” Wenger, Beth S. Jewish Social Studies. Fall98/Winter99, Vol. 5
Issue 1/2, p177-202.
Week 11:
- John M. Efron, “In Praise of Jewish Ritual: Modern Medicine and the Defense of
Ancient Tradition,” in Medicine and the German Jews: A History, (Yale
University Press, 2001), pgs. 186-233.
- Primary source TBA
Week 12:
- Mitchell Bryan Hart, “Healthy Hebrews, Healthy Jews: The Bible as a Sanitary
Code in Anglo-American Literature,” and “TB or Not TB, That was the Jewish
Question: Moses, Kashrut, and the Prevention of Tuberculosis,” in The healthy
Jew: The Symbiosis of Judaism and Modern Medicine, (Cambridge University
Press, 2007), pgs. 78-104 & 143-172.
- Primary sources TBA
Week 13:
- selections from Haller, John S. 1981. American medicine in transition 1840-1910.
Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
- Robert E. Levine, “On Being a Jewish Physician,”; Milton Heifets, “Concepts of
Ethics,” & David Hartman, “Human Dignity as Reflected in the Physician-Patient
Relationship: A Philosophical Jewish Perspective,” in Jewish values in Health
and Medicine, ed. Levi Meier (University Press of America, 1991), pgs. 67-94.
Week 14:
- Guest speaker
- Final meeting, course review
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