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The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

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  • CAS IR 597: Development and Environment in Latin America
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASIR292 OR CASIR590 OR CASEE100) and junior standing or consent of instructor. - (Meets with CAS GE 597.) Provides an empirically based understanding of the social and environmental aspects of economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) for purposes of analyzing the numerous trade and development policies that nations in LAC are currently considering.
  • CAS JS 100: World Cultures of the Jews
    Introduces students to the study of Judaism in its many forms, by exploring Jewish communities across the globe today, their different historical origins and cultural contexts, and strategies of preserving cohesion and transnational solidarity. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • The Individual in Community
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS JS 110: Judaism
    Systematic and historical introduction to doctrines, customs, literature, and movements of Judaism; biblical religion and literature; rabbinic life and thought; medieval mysticism and philosophy; modern movement and developments. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Historical Consciousness
  • CAS JS 120: The Bible
    Introduction to the great canonical anthologies of Jews and Christians. Students will learn to read for historical context and genre conventions; study classical and modern strategies of interpretation; and create a collaborative commentary or piece of "fan-fiction." Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Creativity/Innovation.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Historical Consciousness
  • CAS JS 121: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
    Islam, Christianity, and Judaism in historical and cultural context, origins to the present. Examines diversity of practices, belief systems, and social structures within these religions. Also addresses debates within and between communities as well as contemporary controversies and concerns. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • CAS JS 130: Masterpieces of Modern Hebrew Literature (in English translation)
    Narrative prose by major writers from the revival of Hebrew culture in nineteenth-century Eastern Europe to present-day Israel, including works of Peretz, Agnon, Yehoshua, Oz, Shalev, Keret, Kashua, and Castel-Bloom. Special focus on the struggle to forge modern identity in the domains of family, nation, religion and in the broader Middle East. Required for the minor in Hebrew. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Creativity/Innovation.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Critical Thinking
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • CAS JS 131: Great Jewish Writers
    Undergraduate prerequisites: First-Year writing seminar (CASWR 100 or 120.) - A panorama of great stories by Jewish authors, including Ecclesiastes, Sholem Aleichem, Peretz, Kafka, Agnon, Wiesel, Yezierska, Serdatzky, and Paley. Topics include narrative techniques and figurative language, shtetl life in E. Europe, modernization, love, humor,the Nazi genocide, post-war trauma.
  • CAS JS 136: Jewish Literature
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CAS WR 100 or WR 120). - How do changing notions of ethnicity and race, religion, and gender, as well as geographical place define Jewish family and community' Topics include immigration, diaspora, and national culture; patriotism, antisemitism, and multiculturalism; Jewish identities and gender; conversion, assimilation, and acculturation. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • CAS JS 150: Introduction to Jewish History
    Explores history of Jews across the globe from beginnings to the present. Highlights the diversity of Jewish experiences, identifies patterns of continuity and evolution, situates Jewish history in larger contexts, and limns various modes of interaction with other groups.
  • CAS JS 210: The Hebrew Bible
    Study of the literature of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and the religious traditions to which these writings bear witness within the context of the history of the ancient Israelite community. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Critical Thinking
    • Historical Consciousness
  • CAS JS 211: From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of Christianity
    Introduces the texts of the New Testament and other early Christian writings: first, to place Jesus of Nazareth in the religious and social context of Second Temple Judaism and the Roman empire; and second, to explain the origins and growth of Christian beliefs, practices, and social formations up to the second century. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS JS 214: Introduction to Rabbinic Literature
    Chronological exploration of rabbinic Judaism's major documents, using a modern scholarly anthology. The Mishnah; legal and legendary selections from the midrashim and both the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds. Themes: monotheism, sin and atonement, heaven and hell, conceptions of gender, the impact of rabbinic texts on medieval and modern Judaism.
  • CAS JS 239: Jewish Humor and Satire: Stand-Up Comedy
    Undergraduate prerequisites: First-Year writing seminar (CASWR 100 or 120.) - We begin with Freud's theories, illustrated by Viennese and Yiddish humor. The course then focuses on oral-style short fiction, the creation of a persona, and stand-up comedy routines. As we read texts and study performances, students write their own. Effective Spring 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Creativity/Innovation, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS JS 244: Early Jewish Mystical Thought
    Analysis of the development of Jewish mysticism from the biblical to the early medieval era. Emphasis on the forms of mysticism--and the texts in which they are embedded--from the rabbinic era. No knowledge of Hebrew is required.
  • CAS JS 246: Jewish Mysticism
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (CAS WR 120 or equivalent) - This course explores the rich world of Jewish Mysticism from its earliest roots to its contemporary expressions in the 21st century. We look at the interaction between Jewish mystics and major western schools of thought such as Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, Aristotelianism, and Sufism. The course also introduces students to the Kabbalistic tradition and its various historical manifestations. No prior knowledge of Hebrew or other themes in Jewish studies required. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Aesthetic Exploration, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS JS 250: Holy City: Jerusalem in Time, Space, and Imagination
    Transformation of an ordinary ancient city into the holy city of Jews, Christians, and Muslims; and development of modern Jerusalem, as shaped by British rule, Zionism, and Palestinian nationalism. Jerusalem's past, present, and meanings considered through analyses of religious and secular rhetoric. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Critical Thinking
    • The Individual in Community
  • CAS JS 252: History of Judaism
    This class surveys Jewish history from the classical period to modern times. It covers: the destruction of the 1st Temple; the encounter with Hellenism; the Roman period; the destruction of the 2nd Temple; the rise and influence of rabbinic Judaism; the medieval era under Muslim and Christian rule; medieval antisemitism; Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah); and philosophy (Maimonides). For the modern era we discuss: the Renaissance; the Reformation; the complex issue of Emancipation; coming to America; the growth of American Judaism; religious reform; modern antisemitism; and Zionism. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Historical Consciousness
  • CAS JS 253: Topics Jewish History
    Course may be repeated if topic differs. Explores the History of Jews and Jewish Communities in various geographic, chronological, or thematic contexts. Topic for Spring 2026: History of Jews in the Americas. The history of Jews and Jewish communities in North America, South America, and the Caribbean from 1492-present, highlighting the diversity of Jewish experiences and Jews¿ engagement with other sectors of society.
  • CAS JS 255: Modern Judaism
    Encounters between Judaism and modernity from the Renaissance and Reformation; the Spanish expulsion and creation of Jewish centers in the New World; emancipation and its consequences; assimilation, Reform Judaism, Zionism, the American Jewish community, non-European communities, Jewish global migration, and modern antisemitism. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Historical Consciousness
  • CAS JS 257: Antisemitism after the Holocaust
    Are there new forms of antisemitism that have developed since the Holocaust' How have old forms persisted and reappeared indifferent guises' Did the Holocaust change our understanding of possible consequences of bigotry and hatred' These questions are discussed, along with similarities to other forms of bigotry and racism, and the relationship of anti-Zionism to antisemitism. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry I

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