REL 3820 JEWISH ETHICS

This course explores historical and contemporary Jewish approaches to ethics. We will think critically about a wide range of ideas developed by Jews about how people should act and what kinds of people we should be, and how Jewish tradition, identity, and history may shape responses to a range of moral and political issues. Topics for discussion include honesty, forgiveness, compassion, solidarity, social justice, gender and sexuality, environmental ethics, war and violence, and other areas determined by student interest.

Credits

4 sh

Course Types

Advanced Studies; Jewish Studies Elective; Classical Studies Elective; Interreligious Studies Elective; Peace and Conflict Studies Elective

Offered

• Spring

Course Outcomes

1. Students will explain many central ideas found in the history of Jewish ethics.
2. Students will recognize the diversity of Jewish ethical traditions.
3. Students will recognize ways in which Jewish perspectives on ethics have been constructed in diverse contexts and shaped by encounters with other traditions and communities.
4. Students will analyze how Jewish discourse about ethics has functioned in structuring diverse Jewish identities and in furthering diverse political, cultural, and religious agendas.
5. Students will discuss the importance of gender, race, national identity, and/or sexuality for understanding Jewish ethics.
6. Students will develop skills in evaluating ethical claims, and in researching, writing, and presenting.