A B O U T T H E P R O G R A M
The Jewish Studies Program takes an interdisciplinary approach to exploring the many facets of the Jewish experience, with course offerings ranging widely across several millennia and continents. Students concentrating in Jewish Studies also moderate into a divisional program such as history, religion, literature, or sociology. Students may focus, for example, on the classic texts of rabbinic Judaism; the new forms of Jewish identity and culture to emerge in the modern era; Hebrew language and literature; or the dynamics of contemporary Jewish life in Israel or the United States.
In 2005 Bard became one of ten colleges and universities in the United States selected to receive a grant from the Center for Cultural Judaism. This grant will strengthen Bard's course offerings in the area of secular Jewish culture and identity. It will also make possible an expanded program of public lectures and events exploring various facets of the Jewish experience.
Moderation follows the procedure for the primary program. The board consists of the student’s advisor, who is a member of the Jewish Studies Program, and two faculty members from the divisional program into which the student is moderating. The moderation should demonstrate that the student is making progress in both Jewish Studies and his or her other program. Senior Projects are directed by a member of the Jewish Studies faculty. The Senior Project board should include at least one member of the divisional program into which the student moderated.
Students are required to take a minimum of five courses (20 credits) in the program, which shall include:
- a core curriculum in Jewish Studies, either
- JS 101 Introduction to Jewish Studies, OR
- One approved course from History and one from Religion, typically
Hist 181 Jews in the Modern World and
Relig 104 Introduction to Judaism- at least four credits of instruction in a Jewish language, typically Hebrew. Students who choose not to enroll in Hebrew 101 may arrange for a tutorial to meet once a week over the course of a year at 2 credits per semester.
Students should bear in mind the following guidelines when choosing their Jewish Studies electives:
- at least one course must be outside the division of the primary program into which the student moderates
- one course must be an upper-level conference or seminar
- two Jewish Studies courses should be taken prior to moderation
- two semesters of Hebrew at the 200 level will count as one elective