Jewish Studies

Professor instructing students

 

The minor in Jewish Studies is concerned with the investigation and understanding of a major cultural tradition, Judaism. This tradition has made seminal contributions to the cultural and religious heritage of Europe, America and the Middle East. It has had a major impact on the literature, art, music, philosophy, science and social science of Western civilization.

The minor, through its sequence of formal courses and independent studies, provides a breadth of inquiry that is interdisciplinary in its overall thrust. It involves faculty from all the divisions of the University. While it is not possible to major in Jewish studies, students can concentrate in Jewish studies through their major programs and/or the General Studies program. Another possibility is to design a Liberal Studies degree with emphasis on Jewish Studies. The Jewish Studies minor is available to all graduating students who complete the program’s requirements.

Program Organization

A wide range of Jewish Studies courses and independent studies is offered under both General Studies and program acronyms. These courses provide both a wide scope for studies in breadth and an opportunity for thorough investigation of specific issues. Courses that are relevant to the program will be offered every year and are open to any student at Stockton. Every formal Jewish Studies course carries 4 credits and is classified as belonging to one of three major categories:

  1. Topics in Jewish Language and Culture
  2. Topics in Jewish History and Civilization
  3. Contemporary Jewish Issues

Requirements

  1. Students interested in completing the Jewish Studies minor will be required to take four courses in Jewish Studies in at least two different content areas.  Two of these courses may be related to Holocaust Studies.
  2. All students wishing to complete the Jewish Studies minor must, in addition, enroll in either an independent study or internship project as a capstone to their program. Project topics must be approved by the Jewish Studies coordinator and be supervised by a member of the Jewish Studies faculty (or by another Stockton faculty member upon the request of the Jewish studies coordinator).
  • ANTH2230               Ethnicity
  • ANTH2237               Jewish Culture
  • GAH   1044               Women in the Bible
  • GAH   1052               Jewish Stories and Storytellers
  • GAH   1320               The Bible, Art and Literature
  • GAH   1355               The American Jewish Experience
  • GAH   1362               Jewish Culture and Western Civilization
  • GAH   1365               Influences of Jewish Civilization
  • GAH   1367               Current Issues in Judaism
  • GAH   1368               Heritage: Civilization and the Jews
  • GAH   2171               Major World Religions
  • GAH   2176               Jewish Spirituality
  • GAH    2118              Christian, Jews, Muslims
  • GAH    2144              Women in the Bible
  • GAH    2149              Biblical Ethics, Modem Times
  • GAH    2157              Jewish American Writers
  • GAH    2239              Old Testament and Film
  • GAH    2248              Seriously Dangerous Religion
  • GAH    2302              American Jewish Literature
  • GAH    2304              Jewish Stories and Storytellers
  • GAH    2305              Basic Judaism
  • GAH    2327              How Judaism Approaches Life
  • GAH   2376               American Jews in Film
  • GAH    3634              Ethnicity Through Film
  • GIS      3230              Jewish Women
  • GIS      3630              Finding Joseph
  • GSS     2193              Jewish Organizations
  • GSS     2195              Blacks and Jews: Future Hope
  • GSS     2246              Introduction to Middle East
  • GSS     2436              The Arab-Israeli Conflict
  • GSS     3240              Holocaust and Genocide Education
  • GSS     3946              Holocaust Center Internship
  • HIST   1310.              Early Christianity
  • HIST   2117              Modem Germany
  • HIST   2106              Modem Middle East History
  • HIST   2169              American Jewish Women
  • HIST   2131              Islam and Eastern Christianity
  • HIST   2200              Ancient Israel
  • HIST   2405              Eastern Christianity
  • LANG 1255              Beginning Hebrew I
  • LANG 1256              Beginning Hebrew II
  • LANG 1257              littermediate Hebrew I
  • LANG 1258              Intermediate Hebrew II
  • LITT    3213              Literature of the Bible  
  • PHIL   2102              Issues: Religion and Society
  • PHIL    2402             Abrahamic Faiths 

Additional Information

For more information contact:  

Dr. Marcia Fiedler, Coordinator of Jewish Studies
609-626-6087
Marcia.Fiedler@stockton.edu

Opportunities

Opportunities for related overseas studies are available at Tel Aviv University and other universities in Israel. Stockton, along with the other New Jersey State colleges and universities, participates in a semester-long program of study at Tel Aviv University. The courses offered at Tel Aviv are conducted in English and include classes in Judaica and in subjects of a more general nature. Opportunities also exist for students to spend a year at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem or Ben Gurion University in Be’er Sheva. Interested students should contact the coordinator of international education. Stockton students may also undertake study visits to Israel during the summer or winter break and carry out their credit-bearing projects under the auspices of Stockton’s International Education program; scholarships to help defray the cost of study in Israel are often available for this purpose.

Students who are studying for the Jewish Studies minor are eligible to apply to the Stockton Foundation for several special scholarships and book awards. These scholarships and awards are designated for students who are completing the Jewish Studies minor, planning a career in Jewish communal work, have made major contributions to Jewish life on campus, or have made major contributions to multicultural harmony on campus.

Extensive cultural activities of relevance to Jewish studies are offered at Stockton, sponsored by the Jewish Studies faculty and Stockton’s active Jewish Student Union/Hillel. The Stockton Library has a strong collection in Jewish Studies. A regional Holocaust Resource Center housed in the Library was opened at Stockton in 1990. The Center serves as a focal point for the study of the Holocaust and its meaning. It helps to train teachers and also houses artifacts and oral histories of the Holocaust. Students are able to serve internships for academic credit at the Holocaust Center.

The Jewish Studies faculty works closely with the Jewish Federation of Atlantic and Cape May Counties. Students interested in careers in Jewish communal work can serve internships with the Federation or its agencies. Internships in Washington D.C., of relevance to Jewish Studies, may also be available.