School of Arts and Sciences
Judaic Studies
Judaic Studies

BA in Judaic Studies

The program in Judaic Studies gives students the opportunity to explore the experience and diverse cultural heritage of the Jewish people from various perspectives.

Questions about program requirements should be addressed to one of the Co-Directors: Professor Joel Rosenberg or Professor Yonatan Brafman.

Program Requirements and Policies

  • The BA in Judaic Studies requires ten courses including eight primary courses and two related courses.
  • At least four of the eight primary courses must be taken at Tufts.
  • No major course may be taken Pass/Fail.
  • Only courses with a final grade of C- or better may be applied to the major.
  • If substitutions are made, it is the student’s responsibility to make sure the substitutions are acceptable to the Judaic Studies Program.
  • If you have more than one major, please see the Bulletin for rules on double-counting courses.

Course Requirements

  • Eight primary courses (see list below)
    • Two of the eight primary courses must have a significant amount of pre-modern content (JS 87, 126, 132, 136, 172, 180, RL 18, 21, 183, or equivalent courses from other accredited institutions, or equivalent Directed Study).
    • One of the eight primary courses must involve a substantial integrative project, such as extra research and writing (if approved by course instructor) for one of the existing courses; or a Directed Study course, guided by a faculty sponsor, on a subject of the student’s choosing; a Judaic Studies internship involving research and writing; or a Senior Honors Thesis (entailing a year-long enrollment in Judaic Studies 198 and 199, both of which can be included as a primary course).
  • Two related courses (see list below)
  • The equivalent of three years of Hebrew, or two years of Hebrew and two years of another language related to the student's special interests within the field, are also required.
  • As your major advisor you may choose the Program Director or a member of the core faculty.

Primary Courses

  • ARB 68/JS 68/ILVS 68: Arab/Jewish Literature and Film
  • ENG 164/JS 164: Representing the Jew
  • HEB 21,22: Composition and Conversation
  • HEB 121,122: Composition and Conversation
  • HEB 93: Directed Study
  • HEB 172/JS 172/REL 182: Introduction to Jewish Mysticism
  • HEB 179/JS 180/REL 184: Introduction to the Zohar
  • HEB 193: Advanced Directed Study
  • JS 87/REL 23: Introduction to Talmud
  • JS 91, 92, 191, 192: Special Topics
  • JS 93, 94, 193, 194: Directed Study
  • JS 95: Topics in Jewish Literature
  • JS 99: Internship
  • JS 88/REL 88: Gender in Rabbinic Literature
  • JS 132/REL 186/ILVS 132: The Book of Genesis and Its Interpreters
  • JS 136/REL 187: The Story of Moses and King David
  • JS 142/REL 188/FMS 84/ILVS 142: Jewish Experience on Film
  • JS 180/REL 184: Introduction to the Zohar
  • JS 198, 199: Senior Honors Thesis
  • REL 18/JS 34: Introduction to Judaism
  • REL 21/JS 21: Introduction to the Hebrew Bible
  • REL 114/CVS 74/JS 114: Political Liberalism and Religion
  • REL 181/HEB 174/ JS 181: Judaism and Modernity
  • REL 183/HEB 173/PHIL 83/JS 183: Jewish Philosophy
  • RUS 79/JS 79: Jewish Voices in Russian Culture
  • TPS 0025/JS 0025: Imagining the Holocaust on Stage and Screen
  • TPS 113/JS 113: Jewish American Theatre

Related Courses

Related courses establish links between Judaic Studies and other disciplines by examining such topics as: countries or regions that are major sites of Jewish civilization, past or present; the life of cosmopolitan and multi-ethnic societies more generally; the dynamics of tradition; the impact of modernity and historical crisis on traditional societies; issues of philosophy, ethics, myth, religion, and spirituality that bear upon Jewish life and thought; issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality in the life of a culture; the legacy of biblical and Jewish tradition in world cultures. A student may, with the approval of the program directors, substitute an appropriate course not presently on this list.

  • AMER 16: American Identities
  • ANTH 119: Peoples of the Middle East
  • ANTH 132/REL 109: Myth, Ritual, and Symbol
  • ARB 62: Modern Arabic Literature
  • FAH 22, 122: Iconoclasm and Iconophobia
  • FAH 28, 128: Medieval Art in the Mediterranean: Pagans, Jews, Christians, Muslims
  • CLS 26/HIST 76/ARCH 26/ILVS 26: Ancient Egypt
  • CLS 75/ILVS 73: Classical Mythology
  • CLS 148/HIST 169: Time and Festivals in the Ancient World
  • CLS 151/PHIL 151: Ancient Philosophy
  • REL 31/PHIL 16: Philosophy of Religion
  • REL 16: Introduction to Islam
  • ENG 49: The English Bible
  • ENG 77: The Modern Mind
  • ENG 175: Post-structural Literary Theory
  • HIST 70: Middle East to World War I
  • HIST 71: Middle East since World War I
  • HIST 167: Medieval Islam
  • ILVS 120: Central European Writers
  • ILVS 122: South African Writers
  • PHIL 48: Feminist Philosophy
  • PHIL 55: The Making the Modern Mind
  • PHIL 126: Theories of Human Nature
  • PHIL 128: Human Rights: History and Theory
  • PJS 120/SOC 120: Sociology of War and Peace
  • PS 41/CLS 41/CVS 18/PHIL 41: Western Political Thought I
  • PS 42/PHIL 42/CVS 52: Western Political Thought II
  • PS 134: Comparative Politics of the Middle East
  • SPN 130: Civilization of Muslim Spain