Jewish Studies

Jewish Studies at Delaware is an intellectually compelling, interdisciplinary program that offers a broad range of courses in Jewish culture, especially its literature, language, and history, as well as its ethics, politics, and philosophy. The program’s courses allow you to explore two thousand years of a rich heritage and civilization, from its ancient origins to contemporary forms in the United States, Israel and in communities around the world. The study of Jewish history and culture provides a window for engaging with profound questions about modernity, including the impact of modernization on traditional Jewish life and the critical contributions that Jews have made to the modern world.

Jewish Studies is a uniquely interdisciplinary field at Delaware. Our courses are cross-listed and taught by faculty in the departments of History, English, Sociology, Philosophy, Political Science, Foreign Languages, and others. This diverse range of disciplines allows the Jewish Studies Minor to enrich many majors at the University. Courses range from small, intimate seminars to large lecture courses. Our curriculum is enriched by cultural events and lectures that bring innovative scholars and artists to campus to share their work and participate in the intellectual life of the university. The University’s Special Collections at Morris Library also provides students and faculty with rare access to the papers of world-famous American Jewish writers, including Allen Ginsberg, Arthur Miller, Philip Roth, and Gertrude Stein.

 The Program is housed in the Frank and Yetta Chaiken Center for Jewish Studies and was endowed with a generous gift by the Chaikens.

For information regarding the Jewish Studies program, please contact Katie Capallo.

​Join the University of Delaware's Jewish Studies program along with the Department of History, the Department of Women and Gender Studies, the Department of Philosophy, and CGAS's European Studies program as they present the special event Gender and the (Dis)Continuities of the European Jewish Enlightenment: Hannah Arendt, Lucy S. Dawidowicz, and the New York Intellectuals.  This online event will take place on March 8 at 7pm and is free and open to the public via Zoom.

Guest speaker Nancy Sinkoff, professor of Jewish Studies and History, as well as the Academic Director of the Allen and Joan Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life at Rutgers University, will discuss her recent book From Left to Right: Lucy S. Dawidowicz, the New York Intellectuals, and the Politics of Jewish History.

The image of the New York intellectuals, the Jewish public intellectuals who from their 1930s-nurtured anti-Stalinism became Cold Warriors in the 1950s and neoconservatives in 1970s, is decidedly male.  Yet one woman, the German-Jewish philosopher Hann Arendt (1906-1975) is regularly invoked as a member of the group in its prewar heyday.  Years later, another woman, Lucy S. Dawidowicz (1915-1990), the historian of the Eastern European Jewry and of the Holocaust, became part of the group as it shifted politically towards the right and articulated a commitment to Jewish identity and survival.  

The lecture will juxtapose the lives of Arendt and Dawidowicz as two sides of a deep fissure that characterized the encounter of Ashkenazic Jewry with the modern world, giving voice to the female experience within that narrative.

For more information click here and to register for the free and open to the public event, click here.

2020-2021 Call for proposals

The Yetta and Frank Chaiken Center for Jewish Studies is pleased to offer awards of up to $400 per academic year to support research and conference attendance in any area of Jewish Studies. All faculty and graduate students at the University of Delaware are eligible.

The subject of research or conference presentations may address any aspect of Jewish culture in the Diaspora or Israel, including history, religion, language, literature, politics, economics, demography, philosophy, and/or art. The award period runs from September1, 2020, to August 31, 2021.

Funds may be used to offset the cost of research or conference travel and attendance. Salary, stipends and equipment are not eligible for funding.

Grant recipients may be asked to present their research results as part of the Issues in Jewish Studies (JWST201) spring public lecture series, as a guest lecturer in a Jewish Studies course, or in another public forum.

To apply, send the following items in one single document to Kathleen Capallo ktw@udel.edu:

1) Brief description of the funding request.

2) Brief explanation of how the research or conference relates to the applicant's research goals or professional activities.

3) Line-item budget, including any available sources of support either requested or already granted for the research or conference.

4) One-page CV.

Requests will be considered on a rolling basis, but should be submitted at least 30 days before the intended research or conference travel commences.

The courses in the Jewish Studies program encompass the range of modern Jewish Studies, including European Jewish life, classical and modern Jewish thought, contemporary Israel, the Holocaust, American Jewish culture, as well as modern Hebrew language and literature. Our program curriculum emphasizes the varieties of modern Jewish experience around the world today. In addition to our core curriculum in modern Jewish history and culture, we also offer courses in Biblical and Rabbinic literature, as well as medieval Jewish thought and history.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINOR IN JEWISH STUDIES

The interdisciplinary minor in Jewish Studies requires 15 credits.

• Students must take one of the following three credit classes:
• HIST 146: Introduction to Jewish Culture and History
• JWST 101: Introduction to Judaism
• Students must take a minimum of 12 credits of JWST or courses that have a JWST crosslisting from another department.  Six of these credits must be 300-level or higher.
• Most Jewish Studies courses are crosslisted with a number of departments including Philosophy, English, Sociology, History, Political Science, Anthropology, and Foreign Languages.
• Only three credits of Hebrew language and only three credits from courses offered during study abroad programs can be counted toward the minor.
• Three credits of independent course credit can be counted, with approval of the Director of the Jewish Studies Program.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINOR IN JEWISH STUDIES WITH LANGUAGE

The interdisciplinary minor in Jewish Studies with Language requires 15 credits.

• Students must take HEBR 107: Intermediate Hebrew (4 credits) AND one of the following three credit courses:
• HIST 146: Introduction to Jewish Culture and History
• JWST 101: Introduction to Judaism 
• Students must take a minimum of nine credits of JWST or courses that have a JWST crosslisiting frrom another department.  Six of these credits must be 300-level or higher.
• Most Jewish Studies courses are crosslisted with a number of departments including Philosophy, English, Sociology, History, Political Science, Anthropology, and Foreign Languages.
  
• Students who are exempted from Hebrew 107 (HEBR 107) through the proficiency examination must take a 200-level Hebrew course at UD. 
  
• Only three credits from courses offered during study abroad programs can be counted towards the minor.
  
• Three credits of independent course credit can be counted, with approval of the Director of the Jewish Studies Program.
  

Students who wish to create their own concentration within Jewish Studies may do so with the permission of the program director. Examples of possible concentrations include, but are not limited to: Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Modern Jewish Culture, Diaspora and Transnationalism within Jewish History. ​​

For more information about the Jewish Studies Program, contact Polly Zavadivker at 302-831-6467, or pollyz@udel.edu​ 

University of Delaware ​

​30 West Delaware Avenue

Newark, DE 19716 ​

Phone: (302) 831-6467​

Polly Zavadivker

Director, Frank and Yetta Chaiken Center for Jewish Studies

Assistant Professor, History

pollyz@udel.edu

Polly Zavadivker specializes in Modern Jewish History and teaches HIST/JWST146: Introduction to Jewish Culture and History, HIST/JWST250: Comparative Genocide, HIST/JWST254: Jewish Holocaust 1933-1945, HIST267: Imperial Russian History, HIST/WOMS/JWST303: Women in Judaism, HIST/JWST327: History of Antisemitism, HIST339: Jewish Life Before the Holocaust, and HIST/JWST350: Russian Jewish Experience in Literature and Film.

James Brophy

Francis H. Squire Professor of History, Department of History

jbrophy@udel.edu 

James Brophy specializes in nineteenth-century German history and teaches courses in modern Europe, nationalism, and the Holocaust.

Rebecca Davis

Associate Professor, Department of History

rldavis@udel.edu 

Rebecca Davis teaches courses that cover immigration, ethnicity, and religion in the United States, including the history of American Jews.

Alan Fox

Professor, Philosophy Department

afox@udel.edu 

Alan Fox teaches PHIL/JWST204: World Religions.

Michael Frasetto

Supplemental Faculty, Department of History

frassett@udel.edu 

Michael Frasetto teaches HIST/JWST398: Topics in Medieval History - Medieval Jews, Muslims and Christians, and HIST/JWST398: Topics in Medieval History - Jews Under Cross and Crescent.

Eynat Gutman

Assistant Professor, Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures

eynat@udel.edu 

Eynat Gutman teaches all levels of Hebrew and is especially interested in language for communication. Additionally, she teaches LLCU/JWST333: Israeli Film, LLCU/JWST335: A Land of Many Faces - Israel Through Time, and LLCU/JWST345: Modern Israel: History & Culture.

Karl Hein

Adjunct Professor, Philosophy Department

hein@udel.edu

Karl Hein teaches PHIL/JWST208: Introduction to Jewish Philosophy

Roger Horowitz

Adjunct Professor, History Department

Director, Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society - Hagley Museum & Library

rh@udel.edu

Roger Horowitz teaches HIST/JWST304: Jews and Food, and HIST/JWST327: Jews, Commerce, and Business.

Stuart Kaufman

Professor, Political Science & International Relations Department

skaufman@udel.edu 

Stuart Kaufman specializes in ethnic conflict, international security affairs and international relations theory.

Rudi Matthee

John and Dorothy Munroe Distinguished Professor of History

matthee@udel.edu 

Rudi Matthee teaches HIST380/JWST381: History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict.

George Miller

Professor, Department of English

miller@udel.edu 

George Miller teaches ENGL/JWST202: Biblical and Classical Literature.

Nick Renner

Adjunct Professor, English Department

nrenner@udel.edu

Rabbi Nick Renner teaches ENGL/JWST349: Interpreting Jewish Tradition: Ancient Scrolls to Netflix.  He is the Senior Jewish Educator at UD Hillel.

Leslie Reidel

Professor, Theatre Department

lreidel@udel.edu 

Leslie Reidel teaches THEA/JWST212: Jews & American Pop Culture.

Bruno Thibault

Professor, Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures

thibault@udel.edu 

Bruno Thibault teaches 20th Century Jewish/French Literature.

Sarah Wasserman

Assistant Professor, Department of English

swasser@udel.edu

Sarah Wasserman teaches ENGL/JWST348: Contemporary Jewish-American Literature.

Miranda Wilson

Associate Professor, Associate Chair, Department of English

wilsonm@udel.edu

Miranda Wilson teaches ENGL/JWST202: Biblical and Classical Literature.