RELIGION 333-0-20; SOCIOLO 376-0-23 Contemporary Jewish Identities Dr. Yael Israel-Cohen Spring 2015 Mondays & Wednesdays, 3:30-4:50, Tech. LG76 Northwestern University Course Description: This course will examine the various contours of contemporary Jewish identities in a comparative perspective between Israel and the United States. Attention will be given to the constructs of Jewish identity in ethnic, national, and religious terms and to the most pressing ingroup schisms that divide the Jewish people today. In this capacity, we will investigate topics such as the who is a Jew debate; denominational tensions and questions of recognition; religious and secular divides; and political/ideological rifts. The course will include weekly reading assignments, student-led interviews on the topic of Jewish identity, and a final paper. The following is a tentative list of topics for each class and accompanying weekly reading. Note that the reading list may change. Notification will be given in class for all changes in readings. Topics and Assigned Readings Week 1 Monday, March 30: Overview Mapping out Jewish identities 1) Wertheimer, J. (1993). A people divided: Judaism in contemporary America (p. 20). New York: Basic Books. chs. 5-7 (pgs. 95-159) Wednesday, April 1: American Jewish Denominationalism 2) Cohen, S. M., & Eisen, A. M. (2000). The Jew within: Self, family, and community in America. Indiana University Press. Intro. Pgs. 1-12, ch. 5, pgs. 100-134, and ch. 8, pgs. 207. 1
Monday, April 6: The Jew Within Week 2 3) Heilman, S. (2002). The importance of residence: goldscheider s contribution to explaining orthodoxy s vitality. Contemporary Jewry, 23(1), 220-236. 4) Kushner, K. (2009). The journey of identity development for Jewish Millennial college students. Journal of the Indiana University Student Personnel Association, 29-42. 5) Cohen, S. M., Landres, J. S., Kaunfer, E., & Shain, M. Emergent Jewish Communities and Their Participants. Read pg. 1-5 and 38-40, skim through the middle pages (6-37), reading headings and what catches your interest. Wednesday, April 8: Post-Denominationalism and Jewish Engagement 6) Cohen, S. M. (2006). A tale of two Jewries: The" Inconvenient truth" for American Jews. Jewish Life Network. Steinhardt Foundation. Week 3: Monday, April 13: Intermarriage and questions of Jewish continuity 7) Rebhun, Uzi (2004) Major Trends in the Development of Israeli Jews: A Synthesis of the Last Century in Rebhun, U., & Waxman, C. I. (Eds.). Jews in Israel: Contemporary social and cultural patterns. UPNE. Ch. 1 pgs. 3-16 8) Arian, A., & Keissar-Sugarmen, A. (2012). A portrait of Israeli Jews: Beliefs, observance, and values of Israeli Jews, 2009. Jerusalem: The Guttman Center for Surveys of the Israel Democracy Institute, AVI CHAI Israel Foundation. Read the Executive Summary pg. 10 and skim through data, read what draws your attention most. Wednesday, April 15: Religious, Traditional, Secular Jewish Israeli Identity 9) Smooha, Sammy. (2004). Jewish Ethnicity in Israel: Symbolic or Real? in Rebhun, U., & Waxman, C. I. (Eds.). Jews in Israel: Contemporary social and cultural patterns. UPNE. Ch. 3, pgs. 47-80 2
Week 4: Monday, April 20: Ethnic Jewish Identities in Israel 10) Cooperman, A., Smith, G. A., Hackett, C., & Kuriakose, N. (2013). A portrait of Jewish Americans: Overview. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. Skim through in preparation for event on April 23. Optional: For additional data on Jewish identity in the US, see the full PEW Report at: http://www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/jewish-american-beliefs-attitudes-culture-survey/ Wednesday, April 22 no class during this time. Instead, you are required to attend an oncampus evening lection entitled The State of American Judaism: Recent Demography". The event will be on Thursday, April 23 7:30-9:00 PM (location TBA). No reading Evening Event: The state of American Judaism: Recent Demography, Thursday, April 23, 7:30-9:00 ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY **EVENT REVIEW DUE IN CLASS APRIL 27 th ** Week 5: Monday, April 27: Discussion of State of American Judaism Talk +Discussion of Jewish Identity Interview Paper Reading: 11) Heilman, S. C. (1992). Defenders of the faith: Inside ultra-orthodox Jewry. Univ of California Press. Skim, Ch. 2 (pgs. 11-39) and read Ch. 17 (pgs. 260-276). 12) Lustick, I. (1988). For the land and the Lord: Jewish fundamentalism in Israel. Council on Foreign Relations. Ch. 4, Skim Wednesday, April 29: Religious Zionists and Haredim (ultra orthodox) 13) Zeidan, D. (2006). Jerusalem in Jewish fundamentalism. Evangelical Quarterly, 78(3), 225. 3
Monday, May 4: Ha hesder movie Week 6: No readings **FILM REVIEW DUE IN CLASS MAY 6 TH ** Wednesday, May 6: Discussion of Themes in Film + religious secular divides 14) Sharkansky, I. (2000). The politics of religion and the religion of politics: Looking at Israel. Lexington Books. Ch. 6, pgs. 83-103. Monday, May 11: Who is a Jew debate Week 7: 15) Klar, Y., Schori Eyal, N., & Klar, Y. (2013). The Never Again state of Israel: The emergence of the Holocaust as a core feature of Israeli identity and its four incongruent voices. Journal of Social Issues, 69(1), 125-143. Wednesday, May 13: Trauma and Jewish Survivalism No readings **INTERVIEW ESSAY DUE IN CLASS, MONDAY MAY 18 TH. STUDENT PRESENTATIONS BEGIN ON MONDAY MAY 18 TH AS WELL** Weeks 8: Monday, May 18: Student Presentations No readings 4
Wednesday, May 20: Student Presentations No reading Monday, May 25: Memorial Day, no session Reading: Week 9: 16) Liebman, C. S., & Cohen, S. M. (1990). Two worlds of Judaism. The Israeli and American Experiences, New. Ch. 2 and ch. 4 (pgs. 13-34 and 67 95) Wednesday, May 27: Summarizing comparative perspectives + take home exam distributed Reading week, no class Week 10: Monday, June 8 th Final paper due ***TAKE HOME EXAM DUE MONDAY, JUNE 8*** Week 11: Finals Week Grading: Film Review + Event Review 20% (10% each) Interview Essay (Midterm paper) 35% Final take home essay 25% Participation 10% Presentation 10% Film Review (10%) We will be watching the film Time of favor (Hahesder) in class for which you will be asked to write a review. It is important to note that a film review is not just a summary of the plot. In fact, I would discourage you from thinking in terms of describing the sequence of events or main parts. For this review what is important is a deep analysis of some of the themes raised in the film and your reactions to them. You do not need to discuss all aspects of the film, but rather focus on the themes that you find particularly interesting. A good review will 1) offer insightful analysis on the issues raised by the film that you chose to focus on, 2) integrate class readings and/or discussions when relevant, 2) be well written, clear and coherent. Include a bibliography of the readings you make reference to in your analysis. Reviews should be about 3 pages, 12 point-font, double spaced, standard margins. 5
Event Review (10%) On April 23 at 7:30pm, we will attend a lecture at Northwestern entitled The state of American Judaism: Recent Demography. You will be asked to turn in a review of the event much in the same way as you did the film review. This review should not be a summary of the topics discussed by the speakers, rather it should be a focused discussion of themes that you found interesting and an analysis of them. Your analysis should integrate readings and class discussions when relevant. Include a bibliography of the readings you make reference to in your analysis. Reviews should be about 3 pages, 12 point-font, double spaced, standard margins. Interview Essay (Midterm assignment) (35%) As part of your midterm assignment you will be asked to conduct two interviews with people of Jewish heritage to learn about how they experience their Jewish identity. This will serve as a basis for your midterm paper which will focus on a comparative look at contemporary Jewish identities based on the interviews you conducted. Your paper will offer an analysis of the interviews through engagement with the readings and class discussions relevant to the comparative framework that you have chosen to compare Jewish identities (i.e. ethnic, cultural, religious, denominational, generational, national comparisons). Instruction regarding the interview format and additional guidelines will be discussed during the 5th week of class. The paper itself should be between 5-6 pages and will be due during week 8. Final Take Home Essay (25%) For your final take home essay, you will be asked to write a 4-5 page response to one of two or three proposed open ended discussion questions. In your response you must integrate relevant readings and class discussions. The topics will be distributed on the last day of class, Wednesday May 27 th, and will be due at the beginning of finals week, Monday June 18 th Participation (10%) The benefit of small classes is that there is room for discussion. You will be expected to be part of these discussions. Moreover, time at the end of each class will be designated to sharing questions/issues that you found interesting in the readings. For each class, you should have ready for discussion some reflection about the reading to share with the class. This could be an open ended question that the reading raised for you, or something that particularly interested you in the reading, or a feeling that it conjured in you, or almost anything else that reflects your engagement with the text. Note: Part of the participation grade is also being in every class and arriving on time. If you are unable to attend a class because of an emergency or illness, please email me ahead of time, if possible. Attendance will often be taken at the start of class. Presentation (10%) You will be asked to share your interview midterm assignment with the class in a brief presentation. This will be a rather informal presentation in which you will choose what aspect of this assignment you want to engage the class with. This could be related to the final conclusions of your analysis, the interviewing process itself, the process of choosing who to interview, or any other aspect. More details will be provided a couple weeks before the presentation dates. 6
Summary of Deadlines: Event Review due in class April 27 th Film Review due in class May 6 th Interview Essay due in class, May 18 th Student Presentations (sharing of interview essays) will be on May 18 th and May 20 th Final take home essay due by Monday June 8 th, send electronically to me by email Policy Notes: 1) Late work will not be accepted. If you have an illness or emergency situation, and an exception is necessary, please see me to discuss options to turn in your work. 2) If you are absent, it is your responsibility to get notes from your classmates and stay updated with the material. 3) All assignments should be submitted through canvas. If you are having a problem with the system, send the assignment to me via email. 4) Small changes may be made to the syllabus. You will be informed in class and by email of such changes. 5) For all assignments, use 12-point font, standard margins, double spaced. 6) As in all courses, policies of academic integrity and plagiarism apply. Familiarize yourself with Northwestern s policy at:: http://www.weinberg.northwestern.edu/handbook/integrity/ 7