Jewish Studies
What Should Jewish Studies Majors Know?
Upon graduation, majors in Jewish Studies should:
The Program in Jewish Studies maintains an up-to-date website (http://www.smith.edu/jud) with links to search engines, libraries, archives, institutes, and other information literacy resources. Students of Jewish Studies should familiarize themselves with its contents and gradually work their way through its various links in order to introduce themselves to the wide body of resources available to scholars in the field.
Writing Intensive Classes
Students who have fulfilled the writing intensive requirement should already have learned basic information literacy skills prior to entering the major in Jewish Studies. Such skills are likely to include:
For a description of basic information literacy skills required of all students before entering the major, click here.
Language
Students completing JUD 100y, our required course in Elementary Modern Hebrew, should be able to:
Title | Call Number |
---|---|
Oxford Dictionary: English-Hebrew/Hebrew-English | ref PJ 4833 .O9 1996 |
Zilberman, The Up-To-Date English-Hebrew Hebrew-English Dictionary | ref PJ 4833 .Z552 2001 |
Alcalay, The Complete Hebrew-English and English-Hebrew Dictionary | ref PJ 4833 .A4 1981 |
Title | Call Number |
---|---|
Hebrew Verb Tables/Luhot Pealim, ed. Tarmon-Uval | ref PJ 4645 .Y3 1998 |
Bolozky, 501 Hebrew Verbs |
ref PJ 4645 .B56 2008 |
Students studying Biblical (classical) Hebrew will incrementally familiarize themselves with:
Title | Call Number |
---|---|
Lambdin, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew | Oversize/A Core: PJ 4567 .L3 1971 |
Brettler, Biblical Hebrew for Students of Modern Israeli Hebrew | Oversize/A Core: PJ 4567.3 .B74 2002 |
Marcus Jastrow, A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature | ref PJ 5205 .J3 1950 |
Brown, Driver, Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon | ref PJ 4833 .B67 1962 |
Students studying Yiddish will incrementally familiarize themselves with the following dictionaries and grammars:
Dictionaries | Call Number |
---|---|
Uriel Weinreich, Modern English-Yiddish Yiddish-English Dictionary | ref PJ 5117 .W4 1977 |
Alexander Harkavy, Yiddish - English – Hebrew Dictionary | ref PJ 5117 .H54 2006 |
Niborski, Yidish-frantseyzish verterbukh | PJ 5117 .V34 2002 |
Grammars | Call Number |
---|---|
Weinreich, College Yiddish (Elementary) | 892.49 W433c 1965 |
Bordin, Vort bay vort (Elementary) | PF 5155 .B67 1996 |
Estraikh, Intensive Yiddish (Elementary) | PJ 5115 .E88 1996 |
Zucker, Yiddish I (Elementary) | PJ 5116 .Z83 1994 |
Zucker, Yiddish II (Intermediate) | |
Schaechter, Yiddish II (Intermediate/Advanced) | |
Rockowitz, 201 Yiddish Verbs | ref PJ 5116 .R6 1979 |
History | Call Number |
---|---|
Weinreich, A History of the Yiddish Language | PJ 5113 .W3813 2008 |
Jacobs, Yiddish: A Linguistic Introduction | PJ 5116 .J33 2005 |
Basis Course (JUD/REL 225) in Jewish Civilization
Students completing the required basis of the major able to:
Students in the basis course are not expected to conduct extensive outside research. Emphasis is placed on learning to establish skills in close reading and critical thinking.
Students in JUD/REL 225 will familiarize themselves with the following basic resources:
Title | Call Number |
---|---|
Eli Barnavi, A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People | ref DS 117 .J8513 2002 |
Encyclopedia Judaica (2nd edition) | online |
Students of Jewish Civilization might also find helpful the following general works and surveys as they progress in their studies:
On Jewish Studies as a Field | Call Number |
---|---|
Goodman, The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies | BM 70 .O95 2002 |
On Judaism | Call Number |
---|---|
Baron, A Social and Religious History of the Jews | DS 112 .B3152 1952 |
Finkelstein, The Jews | 296 F495je 2 |
Holtz, Back to the Sources | BM 496.5 .B33 1992 |
Fine, Judaism in Practice | BM 180 .J82 2001 |
Neusner and Avery-Peck, The Routledge Dictionary of Judaism | ref BM 50 .N47 2004 |
Wigoder, The New Encyclopedia of Judaism | ref BM 50 .E63 2002 |
Werblowsky and Wigoder, The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion | ref BM 50 .O94 1997 |
Jacobs, The Jewish Religion: A Companion | online |
de Lange and Freud-Kandel, Modern Judaism: An Oxford Guide | BM 42 .M63 2005 |
On Jewish History and Culture | Call Number |
---|---|
Baron, A Social and Religious History of the Jews | DS112 .B3152 1952 |
Roth, Medieval Jewish Civilization: An Encyclopedia | ref DS 124 .M386 2003 |
Ehrlich, Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora | ref DS 115 .E47 2009 |
Biale, Cultures of the Jews (I: Mediterranean Origins; II: Diversities of Diaspora; III: Modern Encounters) | DS 102.95 .C85 2002 |
Visotzky and Fishman, From Mesopotamia to Modernity | DS 117 .F77 1999 |
Davies and Finkelsetin, The Cambridge History of Judaism, vol 1 (The Persian Period) | click here |
Davies and Finkelstein, The Cambridge History of Judaism, vol 2 (The Hellenistic Age) | click here |
Horbury, Davies, Sturdy, The Cambridge History of Judaism, vol 3 (Early Roman Period) | click here |
Katz, The Cambridge History of Judaism, vol. 4 (Late Roman-Rabbinic Period) | click here |
Saperstein, Essential Papers on Messianic Movements and Personalities in Jewish History | BM 615 .E87 1992 |
Intermediate and Advanced Courses
Students in intermediate and advanced Jewish Studies courses are expected to familiarize themselves with relevant scholarly journals of Jewish Studies. Examples of interdisciplinary journals in Jewish studies include:
Interdisciplinary Journals | Per Call Number/Access |
---|---|
AJS Review (published by the Association for Jewish Studies) | online |
Jewish Culture and History | per DS 101 .J43 |
Jewish Quarterly Review (JQR) | online |
Jewish Social Studies: History, Society, Culture | online |
Jewish Studies Quarterly | online |
Journal of Jewish Studies | Amherst College BM 1 .J63 |
Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies | online |
Tarbiz: Quarterly for Jewish Studies (in Hebrew) | online |
Zion (in Hebrew) | per DS 101 .T74 / online |
Leading journals with a more specific focus | Per Call Number/Access |
---|---|
American Jewish History | Per E 184 .J5 A5 / online |
Biblical Interpretation | online |
East European Jewish Affairs | Per DS 135 .R92 S65 / online |
History and Memory | online |
Israel Studies | online |
Jewish Bible Quarterly | Per BS 410 .D66 / online |
Jewish History | online |
Jewish Political Studies Review | online |
Journal of Israeli History | Umass DS 149 .A1 S78 |
Journal of Modern Jewish Studies | online |
Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy | Per BM 1 .J64 / online |
Judaism | Per BM 1 .J8 / online |
Modern Judaism | online |
Nashim: Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies and Gender Issues | online |
Prooftexts: A Journal of Jewish Literary History | online |
Students in Intermediate and Advanced Jewish Studies courses will gradually learn to use the following search engines:
Database | Description |
---|---|
RAMBI: Index of Articles on Jewish Studies 1960+ | Standard index to scholarship in several languages on all areas of Jewish studies. |
Index to Jewish Periodicals 1988+ | English-language articles, book reviews, and feature stories in journals devoted to Jewish affairs. |
Jewish Studies Source [EBSCO] | Covers all facets of Judaism, drawing from areas of study including archaeology, anthropology, area studies, ethnic studies, history, languages, philosophy, political science, religious studies and women's studies. |
Students in Intermediate and Advanced Jewish Studies courses will familiarize themselves with reference works specifically tailored to the focus of their course. Individual instructors will provide students with relevant reference works. Examples of these might include:
Bible and Classical Jewish Literature | Call Number |
---|---|
Even-Shoshan, Konkordatsia hadasha | ref BS 1121 .E93 1997 |
Sasson, Civilizations of the Ancient Near East | ref DS 57 .C55 1995 |
The Jewish Study Bible | BS 895 .J4 2004 |
Anchor Bible Dictionary | ref BS 440 .A54 1992 |
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia | ref BS 715 1977 |
Individual commentaries on specific books of the Bible in such series as the JPS Bible Commentaries, Anchor Bible Series, Old Testament Literature Series | Consult the Five College Library Catalog for series holdings. |
Fonrobert and Jaffee, The Cambridge Companion to the Talmud and Rabbinic Literature | BM 504 .C36 2007 / online |
Chernick, Essential Papers on the Talmud | BM 504.2 .E78 1994 |
Jewish Thought | Call Number |
---|---|
Frank, History of Jewish Philosophy | B 154 .H57 1997 |
Nadler and Rudavsky, The Cambridge History of Jewish Philosophy | vol.1: online vol.2: online |
Frank and Leaman, The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Jewish Philosophy | B 755 .C36 2003 or click here |
Morgan and Gordon, The Cambridge Companion to Modern Jewish Philosophy | B 755 .M67 2007 or click here |
The Cambridge Companion to Maimonides | BM 755 .M6 C36 2005 or click here |
The Cambridge Companion to the Talmud and Rabbinic Literature | BM 504 .C36 2007 or click here |
Fine, Essential Papers on Kabbalah | BM 526 .E83 1995 |
Modern Jewish Studies | Call Number |
---|---|
Abramson, Encyclopedia of Modern-Jewish Culture | ref DS 102.8 .E56 2005 |
Hyman and Moore, Jewish Women in America | ref DS 115.2 .J49 1998 |
Gilman and Zipes, Yale Companion to Jewish Writing and Thought in German Culture, 1096-1996 | DS 135 .G3 Y35 1997 |
The Jew in the Modern World: A Documentary History | DS 102 .J43 1995 |
Kaplan, Cambridge Companion to American Judaism | BM 205 .C35 2005 or click here |
Kramer, Cambridge Companion to Jewish American Literature | PS 153 .J4 C36 2003 or click here |
Kugelmass, Key Texts in American Jewish Culture | E 184.35 .K49 2003 |
Diner, The Jews of the United States | E 184.35 .D55 2004 |
Sarna, American Judaism | BM 205 .S26 2004 |
Yiddish Literature and Culture | Call Number |
---|---|
The Yivo Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe | ref DS 135 .E8 Y578 2008 |
Dictionary of Literary Biography 333: Writers in Yiddish | online |
Leksikon fun der nayer yidisher literature | ref PJ 5121 .L4 1956 |
Polin (annual) | DS 135 .P6 P56 |
Anti-Semitism and Holocaust | Call Number |
---|---|
Encyclopedia of the Holocaust | ref D 804.3 .E53 1990 |
Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust | ref DS 135 .E8 E45 2001 |
Levy, Antisemitism: A Historical Encyclopedia | ref DS 146 .E8 A58 2005 |
United States Holocaust Museum Encyclopedia of Camps & Ghettos 1933-1945 | ref D 805 .A2 U55 2009 |
Israel Studies | Call Number |
---|---|
New Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel | ref DS 149 .N56 1994 |
Historical Dictionary of Zionism | ref DS 149 .M375 2008 |
The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict | ref DS 119.7 .E5653 2008 |
Avineri, The Making of Modern Zionism | ref DS 149 .A874 1981 |
Hertzberg, The Zionist Idea | DS 149 .Z675 1997 |
Sachar, A History of Israel | DS 126.5 .S155 2007 |
Laqueur, A History of Zionism | DS 149 .L256 1976 |
Reinharz and Shapira, Essential Papers on Zionism | DS 149 .E76 1996 |
300 Level Courses and Research-Based Special Studies
Students in advanced research courses should be able to:
General Information Literacy
The Jacobson Center offers guidance on proper methods of scholarly citation. Students should also consult the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholary Publishing and The Chicago Manual of Style, both of which can be found on the Libraries' Citation Guides page.
The library offers students a great deal of guidance in how to find information and conduct research. Though the information above highlights some of the general resources in Jewish Studies, our students would also benefit greatly from familiarizing themselves with general search engines that often include articles of interest to Jewish Studies. These include:
Database | Description |
---|---|
ATLA Religion Database 1949+ | Covers religious and theological scholarship in 1,400 international journals and 14,000 books. Includes citations and some full text. |
Humanities International Index | Citations and abstracts for articles, essays, and original works (poems, fiction, photographs, paintings and illustrations) from books and journals. |
Web of Knowledge 1980+ | Extensive Index to 1,300 journals in all arts and humanities disciplines. |
Historical Abstracts 1956+ | Covers history after 1450, excluding U.S. and Canada; lists articles, books, collections, and dissertations. |
Humanities Abstracts 1984+ | Abstracts of articles, book reviews, interviews, obituaries, fiction, drama, poetry, and reviews of plays, television, and radio from 465+ sources. |
Humanities and Social Sciences Index Retrospective 1907-1984 | Indexes nearly 1,200 English-language scholarly journals and specialized magazines in the social sciences and humanities; also includes citations to book reviews |
Index Islamicus - 1906+ | Indexes 1,200 scholarly journals and specialized magazines in the social sciences and humanities; with citations to book reviews. |
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS) 1951+ | Indexes 2,600+ international journals in economics, political science, sociology, and anthropology. From the British Library of Political & Economic Science. |
MLA Bibliography 1926+ | Extensive index to literature, language, linguistics and folklore in journal articles, books, dissertations, proceedings, and more. From the Modern Language Association of America. |
Periodicals Archive Online (PAO) 1802 to 1995 | Full text archive of hundreds of periodicals in the arts, humanities and social sciences from their first issues to 1995. For complete indexing use the Periodicals Index Online. |
Periodicals Index Online (PIO) 1665-1995 | Index to thousands of periodicals in the arts, humanities and social sciences from their first issues to 1995. Full text of selected titles can be found in Periodicals Archive Online database. |
In What Classes Will Students Learn These Skills?
Although students will encounter the need throughout their academic studies, those taking JUD 125 and JUD 225 may find it especially useful to work with library staff and faculty to develop the research skills described in this document.
Ethical Issues
A central tenet of responsible research is the ethical use of information. This requires you to always cite your sources accurately, whether you are quoting directly or paraphrasing a document. Jewish Studies professors expect students to be able to cite their sources clearly, using one of the accepted scholarly methods (MLA, Chicago).
Students are reminded not to deface library books or to remove pages from books.
For more information on ethical use of information, see the Statement on Academic Honor Code Infractions in the college’s student handbook.
May 4, 2009