JWST 371 - The Fishman Seminar

Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)

The course is offered by the Fishman Fellow in Jewish Studies, appointed annually to lecture on his/her scholarly concerns in the field of Jewish history, texts or culture. Students are encouraged to take note of the fact that each Fishman Seminar is uniquely offered and is not repeated. Since the topic changes every year, the course may be taken for credit more than once.

Topic for 2022/2023: Toward a Supernatural History of the Jews. How might our understanding of the Jewish past shift if we centered, rather than marginalizing, the occult beliefs, magical practices, and monstrous creatures that have pervaded Jewish written and visual sources over the course of Jewish history? In our modern age, where Jewish identity is routinely disconnected from literal belief in miraculous events, a personal God, or an actual heaven or hell–to say nothing of demons, Golems, and werewolves–is there anything to be learned from a serious engagement with Jewish texts and practices that are predicated on sincere belief in supernatural forces? This course surveys a range of classical and contemporary texts on the Jewish supernatural, and seek to analyze them using methods drawn from the fields of History and Religious Studies. David Shyovitz.

Second six-week course.

One 2-hour period.

Course Format: CLS