The US-Israel Relationship: Past, Present and Future Since the start of the Gaza war in 2023, the alliance between the United States and Israel has grown both stronger and more controversial. In this course, we will examine the history of the special relationship between the two countries with attention focused on its religious, cultural, political and strategic dimensions. Topics will include Christian Zionism, American Jewish politics, Israel-Palestine conflict, the Israel Lobby, geopolitics, and contemporary social movements. Course materials will include lectures, reading assignments and documentary films. All students will complete and present research about a contemporary advocacy campaign meant to influence US policy toward Israel, Palestine and/or the Middle East.

Jewish Traditions “Traditions” are not static, but a constant interplay between continuity and creativity.  What do classical Jewish texts (Bible, Rabbinic literature) tell us about Judaism’s origins?  How have the core concepts and practices of Judaism morphed into a cluster of traditions that has endured over two millennia? With these questions in mind, we will study central ideas in Jewish thought, rituals, and their transformations, culminating in individual projects involving the investigation a contemporary movement, congregation or trend in contemporary Jewish life, e.g. Reform, Reconstructionism, mystical (neo-Kabbalistic) revivals, or “secular” Judaism.

Modern American Jewish History What characterizes the modern American Jewish experience? Is it the effort to assimilate into the American mainstream? Is it about the struggle to preserve Jewish distinctiveness? Drawing on historical scholarship and primary sources (films, art, cartoons, newspapers, literature), we will consider the many meanings of American Jewish identity, particularly its religious, racial, ethnic, and national connotations. We will begin in the 1880s, during the largest wave of Jewish immigration to the U.S. Topics will include “Americanization,” labor, political activism, religious reform, World War II and the Holocaust, “Jewish continuity,” gender roles, race relations, urbanization, suburbanization, and the relationship of Jews to white flight, Zionism, anti-Semitism, and philanthropy.

Zionism and the "Roads Not Taken" (1880-1948) An Arab-Jewish binational state in Palestine was only one of the possible paths that the Zionist movement considered before taking the road that led to Israel’s 1948 establishment. Using various primary and secondary sources, we will critically engage with alternatives to the nation-state within the Zionist movement, unfolding key debates in its history. In the introductory units, we will position Zionism alongside other forms of Jewish nationalism, such as Simon Dubnow’s Diaspora Nationalism. We will then zoom in on post-World War I Zionism, discussing Imperial, anti-Imperial, pan-Asian, and binationalist-federalist alternatives to the Jewish nation-state program. In the concluding units, we will examine the processes by which these possibilities became marginalized, and the vision of a Jewish nation-state prevailed.

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Film In this course we will examine representations of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a wide range of cinematic works and the ways in which films reflect and construct social, cultural, and political realities. Following an introductory unit on Palestinian and Jewish nationalisms, we will address core issues of the conflict (e.g., refugees, settlements, and Jerusalem), everyday life under occupation, and forms of resistance. By discussing fiction films and documentaries we will critically explore social processes, diverse ideologies, unique point of views, and various Israeli and Palestinian narratives. The course is based on lectures, film screenings, class discussions, and student presentations.

The Holocaust Why did the Holocaust happen? How could the Holocaust happen? In this course we will consider several aspects of the Holocaust, including the long-term conditions and events leading up to it, the measures employed in undertaking it, and the aftermath of the atrocities. Beyond a general survey, this course introduces students to the many varying interpretations and historical arguments scholars of the Holocaust have proposed and invites them to discuss and debate these issues in class.

Jewish Thought and Culture: The Modern Era Contemporary Jewish life poses many questions: why do many Jews say they are “Jewish, but not religious”? What is distinct about Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and Ultra-Orthodox Judaism? What do the terms “Zionist” and “anti-Zionist Jew” mean? What is the place of the State of Israel in Jewish life? To answer these questions we will study the history of Jewish culture in the modern era: the Enlightenment critique of religion, Jewish-Christian relations, changes in Jewish practice, the revival of Hebrew, concepts of nationalism, assimilation and the problem of “Jewish politics.” Sources will include classical and modern texts, literature and art.

Sex, Money, and Violence – an Introduction to the Talmud The Talmud is the defining book of Jewish culture. Incredibly rich and varied, it has something to say about almost everything, usually something surprising. It is a book not simply to read, but to engage within dialogue. Due to its idiosyncratic language and unique form, it is not always easily accessible for the beginner. In this course we will learn about the fundamentals of the Talmudic text and then delve into selected passages, discovering together what the Talmud has to say about sex, money, violence, and an array of other topics relevant to modern life.

Sociology of Modern Antisemitism In this course, we will explore modern antisemitism from a sociological perspective. Drawing on theories and empirical research from sociology and related fields, we will analyze the logic of antisemitic narratives, how antisemitism differs from other forms of racism, how antisemitism has changed after the Holocaust, whether antisemitism and anti-Zionism are related phenomena, and how prevalent antisemitic attitudes and discrimination remain today. We will also explore what role antisemitism plays in contemporary conspiracy theories and far-right movements but also whether there are forms of antisemitism specific to the Left. Overall, we will consider how to integrate an analysis of antisemitism into contemporary theories of racism, such as Intersectionality or Critical Whiteness.

American Jewish Life In this course we will explore American Jewish life during a period of rapid change. We will begin with a survey of American Jews’ 20th century ethnic, racial, and religious identities. We will then focus on scenes of contemporary religious and communal innovation across a wide spectrum of American Jewish life, including case studies of Hasidic, Queer/progressive, Orthodox and Reform Jews, and Jews of Color. Throughout, we will examine how diverse Jewish collectivities incorporate broader American and global ideas, creating new amalgamations and contributing to social change. In the final unit, we will explore contentious issues related to Israel, antisemitism, gender, and American politics. Sources will include books, articles, films, and a study tour in New York City.

Jewish Oral History In this weekly seminar students will learn the basics of oral history—research, interview skills, processing, archiving, and presentation—by conducting interviews with members of Kolot Chayeinu, a Brooklyn-based Jewish congregation. Students will work with congregants to create an oral history archive. Depending on student interests and abilities, additional outcomes may include films, audiowalks, social media presence, listening parties, or podcasts. Students will also study oral history theory, the evolution of American Jewish spirituality, and New York City social movements. An oral history of Kolot encompasses Jewish histories of feminism, LGBTQ and AIDS activism, peace and human rights work, death and dying, childhood and adult education, antiracism, theatre, art, music, nonprofit development, politics, rabbinical training, coalition work, and more.

The Book of Job and the Problem of Evil Why do the innocent suffer? The Book of Job asked this question millennia ago, giving not an explicit answer, but at least a response. Framed by a prose tale on the patient Job, the book is mainly a debate in poetry between an impatient Job and his “friends” that has continued to our day, in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic thought, and in philosophy. We will study the debate on the meaning of Job in philosophy and religion through the works of Maimonides, Kant, Hume, Voltaire, William Blake, Jung, and others. Familiarity with Biblical studies or philosophy of religion is helpful, but not required.

Black and Jewish Feminist Perspectives Feminism has a rich history in the United States. In this course we will study feminism from the perspectives of two distinct, sometimes intersecting groups: Black Americans and Jewish Americans. We will explore major feminist texts, writers, and collectives, from Angela Davis, bell hooks, Audre Lorde, and the Combahee River Collective to Shulamith Firestone, Judith Plaskow, B’Not Esh, and Di Vilde Chayes. Through their work and activism, we will study in this reading-intensive course how race, class, spirituality, and sexuality have shaped and reshaped feminist concerns.

Merchants of Venice In this class we will read Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice from different perspectives, including those of race, religion, gender, staging, and form, engaging the play at the level of rhetorical analysis, textual history, character analysis, source analysis, stage and film history, and current performance. We will study contemporaneous dramas resembling The Merchant of Venice (e.g., Three Ladies of London, Jew of Malta, Othello). Throughout, we will consider the multiple attitudes towards Jewishness and Judaism implicit in the play, its performance history and its literary and cultural influence. Finally, we will study the literary legacy of The Merchant of Venice, from the early modern period up to our own times. The class should also give us an opportunity to enhance our skills in rhetorical analysis, writing, speaking, and research.

Philosophy of Fascism in the work of Adorno, Arendt and Benjamin Was the previous US administration fascist? Was it comparable to 20th century European fascism? Upon finding refuge in America, several German-Jewish philosophers sought to understand the terms fascism, authoritarianism and totalitarianism. They focused on morality, participation and subjectivity rather than the figure of the dictator. They asked if this could happen in America. We will begin with a survey of contemporary debates and then read selections from Adorno/Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment (1947), Adorno, The Authoritarian Personality (1950), and Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951). We will conclude with Benjamin’s Thesis on the Philosophy of History (1940). Eric Levi Jacobson has taught philosophy and Jewish Studies in London and Berlin. He is the author of Metaphysics of the Profane: The Political Theology of Walter Benjamin and Gershom Scholem, New York: Columbia University Press, 2003./

Prophets and Politics The prophets of ancient Israel cared less about predicting the future than about shaping it. Political pests, radicals, pacifists and protesters, they were diverse, agitating against the abuse of power, against poverty, economic inequality, and war crimes, long before these abuses were the rallying cries of modern political movements. We will read selections from the prophetic books (Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, I-II Samuel), as well as the writings of activists whom the prophets inspired: Martin Luther King, Abraham Joshua Heschel and Dorothy Day. Students will be challenged to write on the meaning of prophetic ethics for our own times.

Confronting the Jewish Past: A Tale of Two Cities In this course we explore Jewish life in Berlin and Warsaw, its flourishing between the World Wars, its destruction in the Holocaust, and its revival in our times, focusing first on the history of Berlin and Warsaw Jewry: were Polish-Jewish immigrants to Berlin welcomed warmly as brothers or warily as strangers? Among German Jews, was their purported symbiosis with other Germans real or merely wishful thinking? Under Nazi rule how did the fate of the Jews of Berlin and Warsaw differ? In a two-week study tour of Berlin and Warsaw, we will focus on history and memory. How do these two cities commemorate the annihilation of the Jews and reckon with their distinct share of responsibility? We will seek to understand the “memory-work” reflected in monuments and museums, and in the cityscape itself. Back in Vermont for the last week, we will reflect on contested memory and apply what we have learned to contemporary issues: how does the memory of the Jewish past in central Europe figure in the current politics of these two societies? How can it help us understand other societies struggling to cope with shameful histories of oppression, exploitation, and genocide? By instructor approval only. Students who applied during the admissions process in October and were accepted to take this course may register.

Adi Livny

Eric Jacobson

James Berg

Lana Povitz

Oz Aloni

Rebecca Bennette

Robert Schine

Shalom Goldman

Ted Sasson

Zohar Gazit

Read 6 reviews for Jewish Studies courses at Middlebury College. Find the best Jewish Studies professors and courses.  Discover your new major today!

Can’t say I’ve ever had a class like this since. Jacobson is a total beast. Hannah Arendt? Yes, please. Went snowshoeing. Character-building class. It was a deep dive into a philosophical question with a philosophical guy — and some philosophical try hards sprinkled in. But, overall, I became a better writer. We lived, we laughed, we loved.

This was a really awesome class experience. It was truly different than any other class I have ever taken. Each student had the opportunity to interview a member of the Kolot Chayeinu congregation, which is a great project. I learned so much about oral histories as well as the uniqueness of Kolot Chayeinu. Lana Povitz absolutely loves this class and it shines through. While the 3 hour night class is long, it is manageable and there is not much work outside of the class. I recommend taking this class if you want to take a class with Povitz or want a cool experience.

Very monotonous class with boring readings. Had no work, just a paper (final draft was 70% of the grade). He was the toughest grader I have had. Worst class I have taken at Midd. If you have an extreme interest in Arendt, then maybe its for you. The entire month of readings was just Atendt. 