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 2023/2024b: A Leap of Faith: Jewish Art and Material Culture from the Iberian Middle Ages. This course examines the material remains of Iberia’s Jews in tandem with the world in which they were produced and the narratives we have created about that world. Our study of illuminated Hebrew Bibles, Haggadah manuscripts, synagogues, and objects believed to be Jewish ritual objects (but really may not be), helps us to understand how Jewish material culture and art fits into the dominant narratives about Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Iberia: Reconquest, Convivencia, and Expulsion.

First six-week course.

One 2-hour period.

Course Format: CLS