Jewish American Studies (JAST)

JAST 201  Introduction to Jewish American Studies  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): WRIT 105 or HONP 100 may be taken as prerequisite or corequisite. This class explores the Jewish experience in America. Topics in education, family human services, immigration, aculturalization, multiple religious expressions, Jewish history in the U.S., gender, performing arts, politics, organizations and institutions, will be studied as they relate to Jewish American individuals and communities. This class serves as a core in the Jewish American Studies Minor. Meets World Cultures Requirement.

JAST 219  The Holocaust and the American Press: Before, During and After  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): WRIT 106 or HONP 101. This seminar explores the central questions of what did the American public know of the Holocaust from 1933 to 1945, and when did it know it? More troubling still, if the public and thus the government knew of the assembly-line murder of 6 million Jews, and Sinti/Roma peoples, homosexuals, Communists, Jehovah's Witnesses and others, then why was nothing done? A thorough examination of radio, newsreel and especially newspaper coverage of the Holocaust - particularly from 1941-1945 - will be combined with a study of the historical events that made the Holocaust possible. The Holocaust and the free world's burden to "do something" also will be related to other genocides including Armenia, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur and others. Mutually Exclusive with JOUR 219.

JAST 220  The Synagogue School in the American Sunday School Movement  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): WRIT 105 or WRIT 106 or HONP 100 or HONP 101. This course explores the historical and sociocultural foundations of the Jewish American synagogue movement as part of the Sunday school movement in the United States. Topics in education, curriculum, materials and assessment development as well as pedagogical approaches to second/foreign language and languages for specific purposes will be studied as they relate to multiple models of the Jewish American K-12 supplementary education. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits.

JAST 351  Comparative Legal Perspectives: Israel and the United States  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): POLS 201 or POLS 202 or LAWS 200 or JURI 210 or JAST 201 or departmental approval. This seminar explores the legal and political traditions giving rise to contemporary Israeli and American legal systems. This encompasses such aspects as democratic process with its origins and influences, governmental institutions within each legal system, the role of religion and the protection of minority rights. Comparative perspectives provide an understanding of each legal system within its national context. Mutually Exclusive with POLS 351.

JAST 390  Special Topics in Jewish American Studies  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): JAST 201 or RELG 221 or EDFD 220 or HUMN 201 or HUMN 202 or HUMN 285 or departmental approval. This course will explore aspects of Jewish American studies not covered in the curriculum or which deserve more in-depth treatment than that in an existing course. The specific topic will be announced each time the course is offered. May be repeated once for a total of 6 credits.

JAST 399  Independent Study in Jewish American Studies  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): JAST 201. This course will provide students and faculty with flexibility within the existing academic structure. Students and faculty may collaborate to create a course of study which either supplements existing courses or fills in gaps which either student or faculty perceive in a student's curriculum.

JAST 401  Capstone Course in Jewish American Studies  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): JAST 201. Students will work with the instructor to develop a research area that is both derived from and builds on their earlier classroom and/or personal experience. Students in the course are expected to share the progress and outcome of their research with the class. Scope of topics to be selected to enrich the student's overall understanding of Jewish American Studies.