Borns Jewish Studies Program

This course is designed to broaden our thinking about the meaning of history through a perusal of Jewish history in its early periods. What is the primary purpose of studying history? Do we learn about the past primarily to help us understand how people lived in different times and places? Or do we use the image of the past to provide us with images and ideas to describe and understand ourselves in the present? What roles do ideologies (ideas about politics and ethics) and aesthetics (ideas about the arts and beauty) play in how we look at the past and what we can do with what we find in the historical record? Through a perusal of Jewish historical experiences, important figures and central texts, we will deepen our understanding of history and its ramifications in our lives. Beyond the “main characters” that are highlighted in canonical texts, we will read between the lines to seek out perspectives from those whose stories are obscured by male-dominated literatures, seeking evidence about the lives of women and the co-construction of histories and culture between elite and non-elite actors.