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Module Specifications.

Current Academic Year 2024 - 2025

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Date posted: September 2024

Module Title Judaism: A Literary & Historical Survey
Module Code TP530 (ITS) / RET1064 (Banner)
Faculty Humanities & Social Sciences School Theology, Philosophy & Music
Module Co-ordinatorJonathan Kearney
Module Teachers-
NFQ level 9 Credit Rating 10
Pre-requisite Not Available
Co-requisite Not Available
Compatibles Not Available
Incompatibles Not Available
None
Description

The aim of this module is to introduce participants to the complexity and diversity of Judaism in its historic and contemporary manifestations. Participants will gain familiarity with the foundations of Judaism and trace its subsequent development through a close reading of a number of primary texts and some key readings in the secondary literature. Though recognising the complexity and diversity of Judaism, the module will also seek to identify underlying commonalities and equip participants with the necessary knowledge and tools to continue the specialised study of Judaism. The module will also reflect on the usefulness of the term ‘religion’ to describe the diverse cultural phenomena usually referred to as Judaism. Though primarily focused on Judaism as understood, articulated and practiced by Jews, the module will pay some attention to the construction of Judaism and Jews by outsiders and the role that construction has played in the lives of both Jews and non-Jews.

Learning Outcomes

1. Describe the fundamental features of Judaism as a religious system
2. Identify key phases in the historical development of Judaism from the period of antiquity to the present
3. Problematize concepts and categories such as 'religion', 'Judaism', 'Jewish', and 'Jew'
4. Demonstrate familiarity with landmark texts and thinkers in Judaism and Jewish thought
5. Navigate ongoing debates on the nature of Judaism, Jewish identity, Jewish history, and Jewish cultural complexes



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Lecture24No Description
Independent Study226No Description
Total Workload: 250

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Defining Judaism: Boundaries and Authority

The Hebrew Bible

Hellenistic Judaism

Rabbinic Judaism

Karaite Judaism

The Shabbatean Movement

Hasidic Judaism

The Reform Movement

The Formation of Orthodox Judaism

Cultural Complexes of Judaism: Ashkenazim, Sephardim, and Mizrahim

Haredi Judaism

Conservative and Reconstructionist Judaism

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment100% Examination Weight0%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
Essayn/a100%n/a
Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories:
Resit category 1: A resit is available for both* components of the module.
Resit category 2: No resit is available for a 100% continuous assessment module.
Resit category 3: No resit is available for the continuous assessment component where there is a continuous assessment and examination element.
* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a Continuous Assessment/Examination split; where the module is 100% continuous assessment, there will also be a resit of the assessment
This module is category 1
Indicative Reading List

  • Goodman, Martin: 2019, A History of Judaism, Penguin, London, 9780141038216
  • Leaman, Oliver: 2006, Jewish Thought: An Introduction, Routledge, Abingdon, 9780415374262
  • Skolnik, Fred: 2007, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd, Thomson-Gale, Farmington Hills,
  • Holtz, Barry W.: 0, Back to the Sources: Reading Classic Jewish Texts, Simon & Shuster, New York,
  • Bell, Dean Phillip: 2013, The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies, Oxford University Press, Oxford,
  • Cohn-Sherbok, Dan: 2007, 50 Key Jewish Thinkers, Routledge, Abingdon,
  • Michael Brenner: 2012, A Short History of the Jews, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 9780691154978
  • Andrew Bush: 2013, Jewish Studies, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, 9780813554204
  • Martin Goodman: 2002, The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 0198299966
  • Oliver Leaman: 2011, Judaism, I.B. Tauris, London, 1848853955
  • Daniel Boyarin: 2018, Judaism, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, 0813571626
  • Judith R. Baskin,Kenneth Seeskin: 2010, The Cambridge Guide to Jewish History, Religion, and Culture, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 0521689740
  • Alan T. Levenson: 2002, Modern Jewish Thinkers: An Introduction, Jason Aronson, Northvale, 0765762110
  • Eliezer Segal: 0, Introducing Judaism, Routledge, London, 9780415440097
  • Cynthia M. Baker: 2016, Jew, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, 9780813563022
  • Leora Batnitzky: 2013, How Judaism Became a Religion, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 9780691160139
Other Resources

None

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