Ancient Jewish History – Dr. Hannah Roussel

Mondays 1:00pm – 2:30pm CT (Begins Sept 9, 2024)
When did Jews start calling themselves “Jews” instead of “Israelites?” What was it like to be an ancient Jew with a disability? What did ancient Jewish leaders teach about gender and sexual identities? And how were these experiences and teachings influenced by broader cultural contexts in which Judaism evolved? The course “Ancient Jewish History” will address these questions and more while providing students with a historical survey of Judaism from Abraham to the Babylonian sages and their rabbinic academies. Students will travel through time together, while also learning how to think critically about the past. They will read and analyze ancient Jewish sources such as the Hebrew Bible, the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus, and samples of rabbinic literature. These texts will be supplemented with archaeological evidence to give students a sense of Jewish material history as well. There are no language requirements for this course.