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THE JEWISH NEWS
Gov. Engler Thy'
On School Vouches
THE JEWISH NEWS
Jewish Studies
Attract Students
New York (JTA) — This fall
more students than ever
before will be taking Jewish
studies courses as part of
their college education.
A college student's course
load might include classes in
such topics as chemistry and
world history, as well as in
Talmud or Jewish
philosophy.
Interest in these programs
has exploded recently, and
the number and variety of
classes being offered has
risen dramatically.
"Student interest is huge,
and it's not just Jews," said
Arnold Eisen, professor of
religious studies at Stanford
University.
"Jewish studies in this
country existed after World
War I only at Jewish semi-
naries, or at colleges of Jew-
ish studies. There was no
such thing on college cam-
puses," said Herb Paper,
chairman of the Association
for Jewish Studies, an
academic organization of
Jewish studies scholars.
The association's 1992
Catalog of Jewish Studies
lists 410 American and
Canadian universities'
course offerings in Jewish
studies.
Twenty-five years ago,
when the association was
founded, "we could not have
prophesied this growth," Mr.
Paper said.
The number and variety of
courses offered ranges wide-
ly. Some schools offer basic
Hebrew language and Bible
studies, while others offer
courses including every-
thing from Israeli poetry to
advanced Talmud study.
Examples of the many
unusual courses offered at
schools nationwide include,
"Readings in Luriaric Kab-
balah," at New York Uni-
versity; "Jewish Humor:
Past and Present" at Temple
University; "Israeli Society
and Politics," at the Univer-
sity of Michigan; and
"Abraham, Joseph and
Moses," at Georgetown Uni-
versity.
Because Jews have been
involved in secular world
culture and history, what
exactly constitutes a Jewish
studies course is not always
clear. It is, therefore, also
difficult to estimate the
number of students enrolled
in those course.
"Jews did not live off to the
side, even when they lived in
ghettos," making it impossi-
ble and illogical to isolate
Jewish studies completely
from other areas, Mr. Eisen
said.
As a result, course offer-
ings generally cover a wide
range of topics, some of
which focus specifically on
Jewish topics while others
only touch on Jewish issues.
"Jewish courses include
every kind of social science
and humanity," Mr. Paper
said.
It is for this reason that
some schools do not have a
specific major in Jewish
studies.
At Columbia University,
for example, faculty mem-
bers believe that Jewish
studies should be taught
interdepartmentally, as part
of programs in history or
other areas, in order to gain
a broader perspective, accor-
ding to Columbia history
Professor Michael
Stanislawski.
Professors have pointed to
different factors, both
sociological and historical, to
explain the growth in the
Some schools do
not have a
specific major in
Jewish studies.
number of programs and the
increased interest among
students.
"There is much more con-
fidence with being Jewish,"
said Mr. Eisen of Stanford.
"It is connected to the
emancipation of Jews in the
United States," mr.
Stanislawski said.
Mr. Stanislawski also con-
nected the growth to a
broader academic trend of
studying history, as well as
other subjects, from less-
n traditional vantage points.
"Departments are looking
at questions that hadn't
been looked at broadly.
Departments that had
studied mostly political his-
tory became subject to lots of
changes," Mr. Stanislawski
said.
Across the country, uni-
versities are beginning to
offer courses and majors in
non-traditional areas such
as African American studies
or Asian American studies.
"We are allies. The more
ethnic studies programs
there are, the better it is,"
Mr. Eisen said.
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