Skip to main content
Borns Jewish Studies Program

Certificate in Jewish Studies

Students on Summer 2018, Fall 2018, or Spring 2019 requirements JSTUACRT
The certificate program provides students with a broad-based knowledge of Jewish studies.

Requirements

The certificate requires at least 24 credit hours, including the requirements listed below.
  1. Introduction to Jewish History I. One (1) course:
    • JSTU-J 251 Introduction to Jewish History: From the Bible to Spanish Expulsion
    • HIST-H 251 Introduction to Jewish History: From the Bible to Spanish Expulsion
    • REL-A 210 Introduction to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible
  2. Introduction to Jewish History II. One (1) course:
    • JSTU-J 252 Introduction to Jewish History: From Spanish Expulsion to the Present
    • HIST-H 252 Introduction to Jewish History: From Spanish Expulsion to the Present
  3. Electives. 18 additional credit hours, selected from the following:
    • Jewish Studies Program (JSTU) courses
      • JSTU-B 100 Introduction to Biblical Hebrew I
      • JSTU-B 150 Introduction to Biblical Hebrew II
      • JSTU-B 200 Intermediate Biblical Hebrew I
      • JSTU-B 250 Intermediate Biblical Hebrew II
      • JSTU-C 214 Multiple Voices of Israeli Society
      • JSTU-C 216 Israeli Inequality in Context
      • JSTU-C 221 Israel on Social Media: Conceptions, Misconceptions, and Controversies
      • JSTU-C 240 Contemporary Israeli Culture
      • JSTU-C 260 Israeli Film and Fiction
      • JSTU-C 334 What is Middle Eastern? Perspectives Gained through Comparison with Israel
      • JSTU-C 340 The Kibbutz in Fact and Fiction
      • JSTU-H 100 Elementary Modern Hebrew I
      • JSTU-H 150 Elementary Modern Hebrew II
      • JSTU-H 200 Intermediate Modern Hebrew I
      • JSTU-H 250 Intermediate Modern Hebrew II
      • JSTU-H 300 Advanced Modern Hebrew I
      • JSTU-H 350 Advanced Modern Hebrew II
      • JSTU-H 365 Advanced Hebrew Conversation and Composition
      • JSTU-H 375 Introductory Readings in Hebrew Literature (in Hebrew)
      • JSTU-H 399 Readings for Honors in Jewish Studies
      • JSTU-H 460 Israeli Film and Fiction in Hebrew
      • JSTU-H 477 Victims and Avengers: Readings in the Holocaust Literature of Israel in Hebrew
      • JSTU-H 480 Modern Hebrew Literature in Hebrew
      • JSTU-H 485 Recent Hebrew Literature in Hebrew
      • JSTU-H 499 Honors Thesis
      • JSTU-J 203 Arts and Humanities Topics in Jewish Studies
      • JSTU-J 204 Social and Historical Topics in Jewish Studies
      • JSTU-J 220 Sacred Books of the Jews
      • JSTU-J 230 Introduction to Judaism
      • JSTU-J 251 Introduction to Jewish History: From the Bible to Spanish Expulsion
      • JSTU-J 252 Introduction to Jewish History: From Spanish Expulsion to the Present
      • JSTU-J 254 Israel: History, Society, Culture
      • JSTU-J 257 Monuments and Memories: Jewish and Black Experiences
      • JSTU-J 258 Representing Jews and African Americans in American Musical Theater
      • JSTU-J 259 American Jewish History
      • JSTU-J 260 Literary Masterpieces of Muslim Spain
      • JSTU-J 262 Muslim-Jewish Relations in the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries
      • JSTU-J 303 Arts and Humanities Topics in Jewish Studies
      • JSTU-J 304 Social and Historical Topics in Jewish Studies
      • JSTU-J 306 Israel: History, Society, Politics, Culture
      • JSTU-J 310 Jews and Race
      • JSTU-J 316 Jews, Christians, and Others in Late Antiquity
      • JSTU-J 317 Judaism in the Making
      • JSTU-J 319 Magic and Witchcraft in the Ancient World
      • JSTU-J 320 Rabbinic Judaism: Literature and Beliefs
      • JSTU-J 323 History of the Holocaust
      • JSTU-J 324 Zionism and the State of Israel
      • JSTU-J 325 Jerusalem: The Holy City
      • JSTU-J 357 American Jewish Popular Music
      • JSTU-J 358 Music in Judaism
      • JSTU-J 359 Exploring Jewish Identity Today
      • JSTU-J 360 Muslim Spain and Portugal: History and Memory
      • JSTU-J 375 Women in the Bible
      • JSTU-J 403 Arts and Humanities Topics in Jewish Studies
      • JSTU-J 404 Social and Historical Topics in Jewish Studies
      • JSTU-L 270 Coming to America: History and Memory of Immigration in Jewish Literature
      • JSTU-L 285 Guns and Roses: Representations of Soldiers and War in Modern Hebrew Literature
      • JSTU-L 377 Victims and Avengers: Readings in the Holocaust Literature of Israel (in English Translation)
      • JSTU-L 380 Modern Hebrew Literature in English
      • JSTU-L 385 Recent Hebrew Literature in English
      • JSTU-L 390 Biblical Themes in Modern Hebrew Literature
      • JSTU-L 391 David: The Man and the King
      • JSTU-L 395 S. Y. Agnon and the Jewish Experience
      • JSTU-X 395 Global Experience in Jewish Studies
      • JSTU-X 473 Internship in Jewish Studies
      • JSTU-X 490 Individual Readings in Jewish Studies
      • JSTU-X 491 Individual Readings in Hebrew
    • Courses offered by other departments and programs
      • ARTH-A 245 Jewish Art
      • CMLT-C 100 Freshman Seminar (approved topic: "The Agnostic Bible")
      • CMLT-C 301 Special Topics in Comparative Literature (approved topics: "The Agnostic Bible"; "Poetics of Biblical Narrative"; "Reading the Prophets")
      • CMLT-C 377 Topics in Yiddish Literature (approved topics: "Fantasy, Realism, and Fiction in Early Modern and Modern "Classic" Yiddish Literature"; "Love, Soul, and Destiny in Modern Yiddish Literature"; "Selected Readings in Twentieth-Century Yiddish Fiction"; "Yiddish Life: On Page, on Screen, on Stage")
      • CMLT-C 378 Topics in Yiddish Culture (approved topics: "Culture, Memory, and Identity: Yiddish in the Post-Holocaust World"; "Ghetto, Shtetl, and Beyond: Millennium of History and Society of Yiddish"; "History and Sociology of Yiddish"; "Yiddish in America")
      • CMLT-C 400 Studies in Comparative Literature (approved topics: "Job, from the Bible to Kafka"; "The Poetics of Biblical Narrative")
      • CMLT-C 405 Senior Seminar in Comparative Literature (approved topics: "The Bible in Western Literature"; "Job, from the Bible to Kafka"; "Prophecy and Poetry")
      • COLL-C 103 Critical Approaches to the Arts and Humanities (approved topics: "Representing the Holocaust"; "Power, Politics, and Piety: Nationalism and Territory in Israel/Palestine"; "A Question of Identity: The Case of Judaism"; "Who Wrote the Bible?")
      • ENG-L 241 American Jewish Writers
      • ENG-L 367 Literature of the Bible
      • ENG-L 375 Studies in Jewish Literature (approved topics: "American Jewish Writers"; "Jewish American Responses to the Holocaust"; "Literature of the Holocaust"; "Representations of the Holocaust")
      • ENG-L 460 Seminar: Literary Form, Mode, and Theme (approved topic: "The Poetics of Biblical Narrative")
      • EURO-W 405 Special Topics in European Studies (approved topics: "European Anti-Semitism"; "War Diaries: 70 Years After World War II (From Anne Frank to Etty Hillesum)")
      • EURO-W 406 Special Topics in European Studies (approved topic: "Anne Frank: Her Diary in Perspective")
      • GER-E 341 Dutch Culture: The Modern Netherlands (approved topics: "Anne Frank: Her Diary in Perspective"; "War Diaries: 70 Years After World War II (From Anne Frank to Etty Hillesum)")
      • GER-E 351 Topics in Yiddish Literature (approved topics: "Fantasy, Realism, and Fiction in Early Modern and Modern "Classic" Yiddish Literature"; "Love, Soul, and Destiny in Modern Yiddish Literature"; "Selected Readings in Twentieth-Century Yiddish Fiction"; "Yiddish Life on Page, on Screen, on Stage.")
      • GER-E 352 Topics in Yiddish Culture (approved topics: "Culture, Memory, and Identity: Yiddish in the Post-Holocaust World"; "Ghetto, Shtetl, and Beyond: Millennium of History and Society of Yiddish"; "History and Sociology of Yiddish"; "Yiddish in America.")
      • GER-X 493 Individual Readings in Yiddish Studies: Language, Literature, Culture
      • HIST-A 379 Issues in Modern United States History (approved topics: "The Holocaust in American History"; "The Holocaust in American Memory")
      • HIST-B 200 Issues in Western European History (approved topics: "Extreme Violence in Europe 1900-1945: Political Utopias, Ethnic Conflict, and Total War"; "War and Violence in 20th Century Europe"; "The Zionist Movement between Europe and Palestine/Israel")
      • HIST-B 300 Issues in Western European History (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
      • HIST-B 303 Issues in Modern European History (approved topic: "Anti-Semitism in Europe Since the Enlightenment")
      • HIST-B 315 European Anti-Semitism from the Enlightenment to the Holocaust
      • HIST-B 321 European Jews in the Age of Discovery
      • HIST-B 322 Jews in the Modern World (approved topic: "Jews in Space: Places of Jewish Encounter in Modernity")
      • HIST-B 323 History of the Holocaust
      • HIST-B 324 Zionism and the State of Israel
      • HIST-B 330 The Jews of Spain
      • HIST-B 400 Issues in Western European History (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
      • HIST-C 230 Israel: History, Society, Culture
      • HIST-C 300 Issues in Classical and Byzantine History (approved topics: "Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the Medieval Mediterranean"; "Three Cultures in the Medieval Mediterranean: Interactions between Muslims, Christians, and Jews")
      • HIST-C 305 Issues in Near Eastern History
      • HIST-D 304 Jews of Eastern Europe
      • HIST-H 251 Introduction to Jewish History: From the Bible to Spanish Expulsion
      • HIST-H 252 Introduction to Jewish History: From Spanish Expulsion to the Present
      • HIST-H 259 American Jewish History
      • HIST-J 300 Seminar In History (approved topics: "Economy and the Jews"; "The Jewish Body"; "The Jews of Islam"; "Jewish History in (Auto) Biographies"; "Perpetrators of the Holocaust"; "Testimonies of the Holocaust")
      • HIST-J 400 Seminar in History (approved topics: "Anti-Semitism and Jewish Responses"; "Jewish History in (Auto)biographies"; "Jews after the Holocaust"; "Jewish Cultural History of the Modern Era"; "Jewish Emancipation"; "Perpetrating Genocide"; "Perpetrators of the Holocaust")
      • HIST-W 300 Issues in World History (approved topic: "Refugees and Migrants")
      • HON-H 234 Literature of Time and Place (approved topics: "Anne Frank and Hitler: Studies in the Representations of Good and Evil"; "Literature of the Holocaust")
      • HON-H 303 Interdepartmental Colloquia (approved topics: "The Agnostic Bible"; "The American Jewish Experience"; "American Jewish Writers"; "Literature of the Holocaust"; "Poetics of Biblical Narrative"; "Understanding Antisemitism")
      • HON-H 304 Interdepartmental Colloquia (approved topic: "Refugees and Migrants")
      • INTL-I 300 Topics in International Studies (approved topic: "Refugees and Migrants")
      • NELC-N 204 (approved topic: "Prostitutes, Homemakers, and CEOs: Israel and the Concept of University Women's Experiences")
      • NELC-N 214
      • NELC-N 216
      • NELC-N 260
      • NELC-N 303 (approved topics: "Jewish Philosophy in the Medieval World: The Jews of Islam"; "Muslim Spain")
      • NELC-N 305 (approved topic: "Solitary Life in the Pre-Modern World: Muslim and Jewish Sources")
      • NELC-N 360
      • PHIL-P 205 Modern Jewish Philosophy
      • PHIL-P 305 Topics in the Philosophy of Judaism
      • POLS-Y 352 The Holocaust and Politics
      • REL-A 202 Issues in African, European, and West Asian Religions (approved topics: "Biblical Justice"; "Hell and Heaven in Judaism"; "The Jewish Jesus through the Ages"; "Women in American Jewish History")
      • REL-A 210 Introduction to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible
      • REL-A 220 Introduction to the New Testament
      • REL-A 230 Introduction to Judaism
      • REL-A 235 Sacred Books of the Jews
      • REL-A 300 Studies in African, European, and West Asian Religions (approved topics: "Hasidism, Neo-Hasidism and the Future of Jewish Spirituality"; "History of God"; "Introduction to Rabbinic Literature"; "Issues in the Study of the Hebrew Bible"; "Magic, Demons, and Disease in Ancient Judaism"; "Rabbinic Judaism"; "Revelation in Rabbinic Literature"; "Torah, Temple, and God in Ancient Judaism"; "Understanding the Rabbinic Mind")
      • REL-A 305 Ancient Mediterranean Religions (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
      • REL-A 315 Prophecy in Ancient Israel
      • REL-A 316 Jews, Christians, and Others in Late Antiquity
      • REL-A 317 Judaism in the Making
      • REL-A 318 Rabbinic Judaism: Literature and Beliefs
      • REL-A 321 Paul and His Influence in Early Christianity
      • REL-A 335 Introduction to Jewish Mysticism
      • REL-A 375 Women in the Bible
      • REL-A 415 Topics in Ancient Israelite Religion (approved topics: "Biblical Justice"; "The Poetics of Biblical Narrative"; "Studies in Rabbinic and Talmudic Literature")
      • REL-A 430 Topics in the History of Judaism (approved topics: "Bible and Beyond: Reading Early Jewish Literature"; "The Question of the Jew"; "The Struggle for the Holy Land: Power, Piety, and Politics in the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict"; "Talmud")
      • REL-A 440 Judaism and Gender: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives
      • REL-A 450 Topics in the History of Christianity (approved topic: "Jews and Christians: Pilgrims and Exiles: Late Ancient and Early Medieval Imaginings of Travel, Territory, and Identity")
      • REL-C 230 American Jewish History
      • REL-C 323 Jews and Race in the United States
      • REL-D 300 Studies in Theory, Ethics, and Comparison (approved topic: "Dilemmas of Modern Judaism")
      • REL-D 362 Religious Issues in Contemporary Judaism
      • REL-D 410 Topics in Religious Thought (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
      • REL-R 152 Jews, Christians, Muslims (approved topic: "The Binding of Isaac in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam")
      • REL-R 300 Studies in Religion (approved topic: "Jewish Critics of Zionism")
      • MUS-M 410 COMPOSER OR GENRE (approved topics: "American Jewish Popular Music"; "Music in Judaism")
  4. Certificate GPA, Hours, and Minimum Grade Requirements.
    1. At least 9 credit hours in the certificate must be completed in courses taken through the Indiana University Bloomington campus or an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program.
    2. At least 9 credit hours in the certificate must be completed at the 300–499 level.
    3. Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the certificate.
    4. A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the certificate—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
    5. Exceptions to certificate requirements may be made with the approval of the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies, subject to final approval by the College of Arts and Sciences.