Jewish Identity in the Ancient World
RELI 223
Spring 2025
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
CJST 221 |
Jewish Identity is not monolithic but instead, wonderfully, varied, and diverse. The Hebrew Bible gives a multitude of accounts of how many different identities within the course of history came to be and through analyzing these accounts, this course will aim to answer the questions of: What did Jewish Identity look like in the time period of ancient Israel? What variety of identities can be seen in the Hebrew Bible itself? What key historical events aided in the development of different identities in the ancient world? What was the process of identity formation in the ancient world? Is that process of identity formation different than how one might construct identity today? Is it right to even speak of Jewish Identity in 600-700 years in which the Hebrew Bible was written? |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS RELI |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (CJST-MN) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Selections From: The Jewish Study Bible
R. Kennedy, "Why I Teach about Race and Ethnicity in the Classical World" (2017)
"Critical Theory," in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
H. B. Levine, "Reconstructing Ethnicity," Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 5 (1999)
E. Gruen, "Did Ancient Identity Depend on Ethnicity? A Preliminary Probe," Phoenix 67 (2013)
A. Faust, "Future Directions in the Study of Ethnicity in Ancient Israel,"
Selections from: K. Whitelam, The Invention of Ancient Israel
B. Nongbri, Before Religion (2015)
A. Berlin, "Jewish Life Before the Revolt: The Archaeological Evidence."
Selections from: Shaye Cohen, "The Beginnings of Jewishness"
Selections from: Cynthia Baker, "Jew"
Selections from: Steve Mason, "Jews, Judeans, Judaizing, Judaism: Problems of Categorizations in Ancient History,"
C. Baker, "From Every Nation under Heaven: Jewish Ethnicities in the Greco-Roman World,"
T. Coates, "What We Mean When We Say 'Race is a Social Construct'"
Selections From: R. Delgado, Critical Race Theory: An Introduction
M. Satlow, "Jew or Judaean?,"
A. Reinharz, "The Vanishing Jews of Antiquity,"
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Examinations and Assignments:
Participation 25%, A Midterm Exam 25%, A Presentation 15%, A Final Research Paper 35% |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course fulfills the Historical Traditions requirement for the Religion major/minor
This course counts towards the Jewish and Israel Studies minor |
| Instructor(s): Walker,Tanner Ethan Times: ..T.R.. 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: FISK101; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 19 | | SR major: 0 | JR major: 7 | | |
| Seats Available: 11 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 4 | JR non-major: 4 | SO: 4 | FR: 0 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 2 | 1st Ranked: 1 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 1 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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