Jewish Studies MA

All students are introduced to the disciplines, theories, methods, and practice of learning and research in Jewish Studies BA, and those without prior knowledge of Hebrew learn the language at elementary level. An extensive range of optional modules are available in Jewish history, literature, languages, and Jewish thought, from antiquity to the modern world.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of one or two (see below) core modules (30/60 credits), between four or six optional modules (60/90 credits), and a research dissertation (60 credits).

• Jewish Studies MA Core Course
• Biblical Hebrew or Modern Hebrew (for students without prior knowledge of Hebrew)

Options may include the following:

• Ancient Jewish Magic; Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions; Judaism and the Origins of Christianity
• European Jewry and the Holocaust; History of the Jews in Poland; Jews and the Metropolis
• Hebrew (biblicial, rabbinic, modern)
• Moses Maimonides in Jewish Thought and History; Hasidism and Modernity
• Old Testament Historical Texts; Introduction to Talmud
• Representation of Trauma; Family Politics in Israeli Literature; Rattling the Gender Agenda
• The Arab-Israeli Conflict; Israel and the Occupied Territories; Anglo-Israeli Relations
• Yiddish; Aramaic; Ugaritic; Syriac; Judeo-Spanish
• Yiddish Memoirs; Yiddish Literature; Special Topics

All students undertake an independent research project which should be based in part on primary sources. The project culminates in a dissertation of 12,000 words.

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, and other media such as occasional film viewings. Students will be expected to visit the major archives and libraries in the London area, depending on their specific areas of research and interest. Assessment is mainly through unseen examinations, coursework, long essays, and the dissertation.