JWST/GSLL 2350 - Intro to Jewish Culture
University of Colorado Boulder
This course explores the development and expressions of Jewish cultures across the chronological and geographical map of the Jewish people, with an emphasis on the variety of Jewish ethnicities and their cultural productions and changes, including such issues as sexuality and foodways. Sets the discussion in relevant contexts, and looks at cultural representations that include literary & visual texts.
Approved for the core curriculum: Human Diversity
"What is culture?" is the main intellectual question this course asks. What we do during the semester is looking for more and more complex ways to ask this question and to think about how to answer it, exploring Jewish culture as our main example. As a class, we take an expansive view of what "culture" is -- culture as not only literature, cinema, comic books and graphic novels, and other arts, but also culture as constituted by everyday practices, religious and social beliefs, material objects, foodways, approaches to sexuality and notions of gender, folklore, and many other topics. The course aims, above all, to help students sharpen their critical thinking skills by framing and reframing our main question in ways that could help us approach complex issues in this course, in other university-level courses, and, most importantly, outside the classroom.
What students have said about this course and the professor:
"I felt personally engaged throughout this course and was impressed with Prof. Senderovich's ability to make us feel like individuals in a fairly large class." (Spring 2014 student)
"I appreciate the different mediums we used to learn about Jewish culture. Books, movies, and journalism gave us a variety of perspectives." (Spring 2014 student)
"This course was really interesting in that it wasn't what I expected, it really explored Jewish culture." (Spring 2015 student)
"I really enjoyed this class! I especially liked this last graphic novel [Anya Ulinich's Lena Finkle's Magic Barrel] we read, I thought it was a really fun read." (Spring 2015 student)
"The only professor who has ever emailed me to tell me I'm smart and I don't think I will ever forget that. Thank you!" (Spring 2015 student)
"I really appreciate Prof. Senderovich's willingness to work with students who prove their desire to do well. He goes above and beyond. While the quizzes aren't fun, they did encourage mt to read. Thanks for a great semester!" (Spring 2015 student)
"Great course! Assigned readings and teaching strategies used to encourage reading and class discussion -- all were excellent." (Spring 2015 student)
Approved for the core curriculum: Human Diversity
- In Spring 2017 the course will be offered on Tu/Th 3:30-4:45
- This course is required for majors and minors in Jewish Studies; the course usually includes a couple of guest lectures by other faculty from the Program in Jewish Studies, so students get to meet other CU Boulder professors
- This course includes many extra credit opportunities, for example attending public lectures, theater performances, and film screenings both at the University of Colorado and in the broader Boulder and Denver communities (such as at the Boulder Jewish Film Festival, the Boulder International Film Festival, and the Denver Jewish Film Festival, all of which take place every spring)
- Download the course flyer -- in PDF format and in JPG format
"What is culture?" is the main intellectual question this course asks. What we do during the semester is looking for more and more complex ways to ask this question and to think about how to answer it, exploring Jewish culture as our main example. As a class, we take an expansive view of what "culture" is -- culture as not only literature, cinema, comic books and graphic novels, and other arts, but also culture as constituted by everyday practices, religious and social beliefs, material objects, foodways, approaches to sexuality and notions of gender, folklore, and many other topics. The course aims, above all, to help students sharpen their critical thinking skills by framing and reframing our main question in ways that could help us approach complex issues in this course, in other university-level courses, and, most importantly, outside the classroom.
What students have said about this course and the professor:
"I felt personally engaged throughout this course and was impressed with Prof. Senderovich's ability to make us feel like individuals in a fairly large class." (Spring 2014 student)
"I appreciate the different mediums we used to learn about Jewish culture. Books, movies, and journalism gave us a variety of perspectives." (Spring 2014 student)
"This course was really interesting in that it wasn't what I expected, it really explored Jewish culture." (Spring 2015 student)
"I really enjoyed this class! I especially liked this last graphic novel [Anya Ulinich's Lena Finkle's Magic Barrel] we read, I thought it was a really fun read." (Spring 2015 student)
"The only professor who has ever emailed me to tell me I'm smart and I don't think I will ever forget that. Thank you!" (Spring 2015 student)
"I really appreciate Prof. Senderovich's willingness to work with students who prove their desire to do well. He goes above and beyond. While the quizzes aren't fun, they did encourage mt to read. Thanks for a great semester!" (Spring 2015 student)
"Great course! Assigned readings and teaching strategies used to encourage reading and class discussion -- all were excellent." (Spring 2015 student)