Information and Policies
Introduction
The interdisciplinary program in Jewish studies introduces students to the study of classical, medieval, and modern Jewish cultures and to the range of disciplines that bear upon the field.
The Jewish studies major and minor offer students the chance to gain knowledge and skills in a variety of contexts in various aspects of Jewish culture, with special reference (though not limited) to modern issues. The major and minor will help them prepare to move successfully into graduate programs in a variety of disciplines, especially in humanities, social sciences, and pre-professional programs, and will provide students with a grounding in materials fundamental to a liberal arts education. This program connects with a range of disciplines and programs on the UCSC campus that explore the meanings of modernity; at the same time, this program will help students develop analytical tools, methodological versatility, and critical literacy.
Note that modernity here is not defined as Europe or North America; the Jewish studies program intends to speak to modernity as a global phenomenon, dealing with sites where Jews lived. In the 19th and 20th centuries Jews were widely spread across the globe and often played active and influential roles in their communities. These include such places as China, India, Latin America, North Africa, the Middle East, as well as Europe, and North America.
Academic Advising for the Program
The Jewish studies program is administered by the Department of History. Students in this program receive advising support from the history undergraduate program coordinator.
Transfer students are encouraged to consult the "Transfer Information and Policy" information included below.
Program Learning Outcomes
Jewish History and Culture
Identify and interpret major events, figures, and topics in Jewish history and culture.
Holocaust
Demonstrate thorough knowledge of the Holocaust as a historical phenomenon.
Develop a nuanced understanding of the cultural dimensions of the Holocaust through an analysis of literature, films, art, and/or music.
Jewish Languages
Develop basic competency in Hebrew (modern or Biblical) or Yiddish.
Critical Analysis
Distinguish between primary and secondary sources.
Evaluate competing interpretations and multiple narratives of the past.
Analyze Jewish cultural sources, including literary texts, films, and music within a broader, cross-cultural context.
Effective Communication
Present clear and compelling arguments, based on critical analysis of diverse literary, historical, film, and/or musical sources, and effectively communicate interpretations in written essays and/or other media.
Scope
Classical Period.
Modern Period.
Major Qualification Policy and Declaration Process
Major Qualification
Undeclared students may declare the Jewish studies major at any time. While specific courses are not required in order to declare, students will have ideally completed some or all of the lower-division requirements.
How to Declare a Major
- Fill out a Jewish Studies Major Planning Worksheet. Include Jewish studies courses you've completed, are currently taking, and plan on taking in the future.
- Meet with a Jewish studies faculty adviser to review and discuss your proposed plan of study. Obtain their signature on your worksheet.
- Submit your approved Jewish Studies Major Planning Worksheet and a completed UCSC Petition for Major/Minor Declaration to the history undergraduate program coordinator for processing.
Transfer Information and Policy
Transfer Admission Screening Policy
Students planning to apply in this major are not required to complete specific major preparation courses for consideration of admission to UC Santa Cruz.
Transfer students entering at the junior level can readily finish all of the Jewish Studies major requirements within two years, even if they haven’t completed any preparatory coursework prior to transferring. Some background in history and in literary analysis and interpretation is desirable, but not essential. Since this is an interdisciplinary major, preparatory work in art history, philosophy, or politics, depending on the student’s interests, may also be useful.
Transfer students are encouraged to complete the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) or UCSC general education requirements in preparation for transfer to UC Santa Cruz.
Getting Started at UCSC as a Transfer Student
Transfer students are advised to complete the lower-division Jewish studies course requirements, including the language requirement, by the end of their first year. The upper-division courses required for this major may be taken simultaneously with the required lower-division courses. Please refer to the sample academic plan provided below.
Transfer students may declare the Jewish studies major during their first quarter of enrollment at UCSC.
Letter Grade Policy
Students are allowed to complete up to two of their Jewish studies major or minor requirements for pass/no pass, with the exception of their comprehensive requirement.
Course Substitution Policy
Jewish studies majors must take a minimum of five regularly scheduled Jewish studies courses plus the comprehensive/disciplinary communications (DC) requirement from members of the UCSC Jewish studies faculty. Subject to the limits indicated, courses from the following categories may be applied to the Jewish studies major:
- Courses transfer from a California Community College or other domestic university (limit of three)
- Education Abroad Program (limit of three)
- Related courses not currently on the pre-approved Jewish studies course list (limit of two)
- Independent and field studies (limit of one)
Study Abroad
The program in Jewish studies encourages students to take advantage of the UC Education Abroad Program (EAP). The University of California has developed educational opportunities abroad in conjunction with the Jerusalem Study Center at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Subject to the limitations described in the "Course Substitution Policy" section, up to three courses from EAP may be applied toward the Jewish studies major requirements.
Honors
All students who announce candidacy during the academic year are reviewed for honors or highest honors in the major. The Jewish studies faculty advisers determine honors based upon courses applied toward the Jewish studies major. Performance in courses taken elsewhere and being transferred toward the major will be considered when applicable. The minimum standard applied is excellence in most courses for honors, and excellence in all courses for highest honors. Summer, fall, and winter graduates will be reviewed at the end of each of their respective quarters. Spring graduates will be reviewed as of the spring announcement of candidacy deadline.
Requirements and Planners
Course Requirements
The Jewish studies major requires a minimum of 11 courses, including the comprehensive requirement, and an additional three language courses (or equivalent).
In consultation with a faculty adviser, students will plan a program of study to fulfill the following distribution of courses:
Lower-Division Courses
Language Requirement
Three quarters of lower-division instruction (or equivalent) in a Jewish language in any combination of the student’s choosing:
| HEBR1 | First-Year Hebrew | 5 |
| HEBR2 | First-Year Hebrew | 5 |
| HEBR3 | First-Year Hebrew | 5 |
| HEBR4 | Second-Year Hebrew | 5 |
| HEBR80 | Introduction to Biblical Hebrew | 5 |
| YIDD1 | First-Year Yiddish | 5 |
| YIDD2 | First-Year Yiddish | 5 |
| YIDD3 | First-Year Yiddish | 5 |
Students with prior knowledge of Hebrew or Yiddish are advised to complete a language placement exam to determine if they have satisfied any of the elementary language course requirements. Instructions for the placement exam can be found on the Languages and Applied Linguistics website.
Lower-Division Core Courses (choose one of the following courses):
| HIS74 | Introduction to Jewish History and Cultures | 5 |
| HIS74A | Introduction to Middle Eastern and North African Jewish History: Ancient to Early Modern | 5 |
| HIS74B | Introduction to Middle Eastern and North African Jewish History, 1500-2000 | 5 |
| LIT61J | Introduction to Jewish Literature and Culture | 5 |
Plus one of the following courses:
Upper-Division Courses
Four upper-division Jewish studies core courses:
| HIS155 | History of Modern Israel | 5 |
| HIS163B | Genesis: A History | 5 |
| HIS172A | German History | 5 |
| HIS172B | German Film, 1919-1945 | 5 |
| HIS178E | Modern Jewish Intellectual History | 5 |
| HIS185I | Latin American Jewish History in the Modern Period | 5 |
| HIS185J | The Modern Jewish Experience | 5 |
| HIS185K | Jewish Life in Eastern Mediterranean Port Cities | 5 |
| HIS185L | Where Civilizations Met--Jews, Judaism, and the Iberian Peninsula | 5 |
| HIS185M | Zionism: An Intellectual History | 5 |
| HIS185O | The Holocaust and the Arab World | 5 |
| HIS194F | Jewish Shanghai | 5 |
| HAVC135E | Jewish Identity and Visual Representation | 5 |
| JWST185N
/HIS 185N
| The Holocaust in a Digital World | 5 |
| LGST114 | Jews, Anti-Semitism, and the American Legal System | 5 |
| LGST115 | Law and the Holocaust | 5 |
| LIT118A | Hebrew Bible | 5 |
| LIT164A | Jewish Travel Narratives | 5 |
| LIT164B | Hebrew Poetry | 5 |
| LIT164C | Global Jewish Writing | 5 |
| LIT164D | Jewish Diaspora, Ethnicity, and Urban Life | 5 |
| LIT164G | Literature and the Holocaust | 5 |
| LIT164H | Jewish Writers and the European City | 5 |
| LIT164J | Jewish Writers and the American City | 5 |
| LIT181A | Biblical Hebrew, Part 1 | 5 |
| LIT181B | Biblical Hebrew, Part 2 | 5 |
| PHIL148 | The Holocaust and Philosophy | 5 |
Electives
Four additional Jewish studies courses of the student's choice, three of which must be upper-division.
The following courses are electives only. Students may satisfy their Jewish studies elective requirements by taking additional language, lower-division core, and upper-division core courses from the Jewish studies curriculum.
| HIS2A | The World to 1500 | 5 |
| HIS2B | The World Since 1500 | 5 |
| HIS70A | Modern European History, 1500-1815 | 5 |
| HIS70B | Modern European History, 1815-present | 5 |
| HIS167A | The First World War | 5 |
| HIS167B | The Second World War in Europe | 5 |
| HIS172C | History of German Film, 1945 to Present | 5 |
| HIS172D | Hitler and the Third Reich | 5 |
| HIS176 | Eastern Europe, 1848-2000 | 5 |
| HIS178A | European Intellectual History: The Enlightenment | 5 |
| HIS178B | European Intellectual History: The 19th Century | 5 |
| HIS178C | European Intellectual History, 1870-1970 | 5 |
| HIS184B | Racism and Antiracism in Europe: From 1870 to the Present | 5 |
| JWST199 | Tutorial | 5 |
| LIT112I | Kafka in Translation | 5 |
| MUSC80I | Music of Modern Israel | 5 |
| MUSC81P | History of Jewish Music | 5 |
| MUSC80T | Mizrach: Jewish Music in the Lands of Islam | 5 |
| MUSC80Y | Music, Anti-Semitism, and the Holocaust | 5 |
Disciplinary Communication (DC) Requirement
Students of every major must satisfy that major's upper-division disciplinary communication (DC) requirement. The DC requirement in Jewish studies is satisfied by completing an exit seminar or thesis:
Choose an exit seminar (one quarter--choose one of the following courses):
| HIS194L | Exile, Diaspora, and Displacement: Jewish Lives from North Africa to the Middle East | 5 |
| HIS194V | Fascism and Anti-Fascism: The Global Spanish Civil War | 5 |
| HIS196G | Topics in Modern Germany and Europe | 5 |
| HIS196M | Shtetl: Eastern European Jewish Life | 5 |
| HIS196N | Eastern European Jewish Social History | 5 |
| HIS196P | Hitler and Stalin | 5 |
| HIS196R | Social World of Roman Palestine | 5 |
| LIT190Y | Topics in Jewish Literature and Culture | 5 |
Or a thesis (two quarters--all of the following courses):
Comprehensive Requirement
Students may satisfy the Jewish studies comprehensive exit requirement by completing an approved exit seminar or senior thesis:
Choose an exit seminar (one quarter--choose one of the following courses):
| HIS194L | Exile, Diaspora, and Displacement: Jewish Lives from North Africa to the Middle East | 5 |
| HIS194V | Fascism and Anti-Fascism: The Global Spanish Civil War | 5 |
| HIS196G | Topics in Modern Germany and Europe | 5 |
| HIS196M | Shtetl: Eastern European Jewish Life | 5 |
| HIS196N | Eastern European Jewish Social History | 5 |
| HIS196P | Hitler and Stalin | 5 |
| HIS196R | Social World of Roman Palestine | 5 |
| LIT190Y | Topics in Jewish Literature and Culture | 5 |
Or a thesis (two quarters--all of the following courses):
Distribution Requirements
Of the courses required for the major, at least three must also meet the following distribution requirements:
Classical Chronological Distribution Requirement
One of the following courses:
| HEBR80 | Introduction to Biblical Hebrew | 5 |
| HIS74A | Introduction to Middle Eastern and North African Jewish History: Ancient to Early Modern | 5 |
| HIS163B | Genesis: A History | 5 |
| HIS196R | Social World of Roman Palestine | 5 |
| LIT118A | Hebrew Bible | 5 |
| LIT181A | Biblical Hebrew, Part 1 | 5 |
| LIT181B | Biblical Hebrew, Part 2 | 5 |
Modern Chronological Distribution Requirement
One of the following courses:
| HIS155 | History of Modern Israel | 5 |
| HIS167A | The First World War | 5 |
| HIS167B | The Second World War in Europe | 5 |
| HIS172A | German History | 5 |
| HIS172B | German Film, 1919-1945 | 5 |
| HIS172D | Hitler and the Third Reich | 5 |
| HIS178E | Modern Jewish Intellectual History | 5 |
| HIS185I | Latin American Jewish History in the Modern Period | 5 |
| HIS185J | The Modern Jewish Experience | 5 |
| HIS185K | Jewish Life in Eastern Mediterranean Port Cities | 5 |
| HIS196G | Topics in Modern Germany and Europe | 5 |
| HIS196M | Shtetl: Eastern European Jewish Life | 5 |
| HIS196N | Eastern European Jewish Social History | 5 |
| HAVC135E | Jewish Identity and Visual Representation | 5 |
| LGST114 | Jews, Anti-Semitism, and the American Legal System | 5 |
| LIT112I | Kafka in Translation | 5 |
| LIT164A | Jewish Travel Narratives | 5 |
| LIT164B | Hebrew Poetry | 5 |
| LIT164C | Global Jewish Writing | 5 |
| LIT164D | Jewish Diaspora, Ethnicity, and Urban Life | 5 |
| LIT164H | Jewish Writers and the European City | 5 |
| LIT164J | Jewish Writers and the American City | 5 |
| MUSC80I | Music of Modern Israel | 5 |
| MUSC81P | History of Jewish Music | 5 |
Holocaust Distribution Requirement
One of the following courses:
| HIS75 | Film and the Holocaust | 5 |
| HIS76 | The Holocaust | 5 |
| HIS185O | The Holocaust and the Arab World | 5 |
| HIS196P | Hitler and Stalin | 5 |
| JWST185N
/HIS 185N
| The Holocaust in a Digital World | 5 |
| LGST115 | Law and the Holocaust | 5 |
| LIT164G | Literature and the Holocaust | 5 |
| PHIL148 | The Holocaust and Philosophy | 5 |
Planners
Sample Four Year Plan
| |
Fall |
Winter |
Spring |
| 1st (frosh) |
Language 1 |
Language 2 |
Language 3 |
| HIS 74, 74A, 74B, 77, or LIT 61J |
|
HIS 75 or HIS 76 |
| |
|
|
| 2nd (soph) |
Upper division core course 1 |
Upper division core course 2 |
Upper division core course 3 |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| 3rd (junior) |
Upper division core course 4 |
Additional core or elective 1 |
Upper division additional core or elective 2 |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| 4th (senior) |
Upper division additional core or elective 3 |
Upper division additional core or elective 4 |
Exit seminar or thesis (DC) |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
In addition to the specific courses shown in these planners, a student must complete courses satisfying all of UCSC's general education requirements. Individual student plans will vary, and some general education requirements may be satisfied by Jewish studies major requirements depending on each student's individual course selection.
Sample Transfer Plan
| |
Fall |
Winter |
Spring |
| 1st (junior) |
Language 1 |
Language 2 |
Language 3 |
| HIS 74, 74A, 74B, 77, or LIT 61J |
Upper division core course |
HIS 75 or HIS 76 |
| |
Additional core or elective 1 |
Upper division core course 2 |
| 2nd (senior) |
Upper division core course 3 |
Upper division core course 4 |
Upper division additional core or elective 4 |
| Upper division additional core or elective 2 |
Upper division additional core or elective 3 |
Exit seminar or thesis (DC) |
| |
|
|
This planner assumes that a student has completed most of their general education requirements before coming to UCSC. Students from California community colleges are advised to complete the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) in preparation for transfer to UC Santa Cruz.
These are sample plans. Actual student plans will vary according to annual course offerings and student's unique academic goals. Editable versions of these plans are available on the Jewish Studies website.