Bachelor of Arts (BA)

BA History and Arabic

Combine a specialist study of Arabic culture with a range of diverse historical periods.
  • Duration: 4 years
  • Year of entry: 2025
  • UCAS course code: VT33 / Institution code: M20

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Fees and funding

Fees

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £26,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

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Course unit details:
Introduction to Judaism

Course unit fact file
Unit code RELT10192
Credit rating 20
Unit level Level 1
Teaching period(s) Semester 2
Available as a free choice unit? Yes

Overview

The course introduces you to the study of the beliefs and practices of Judaism alongside non-religious Jewish identities, linking Jewish identity to questions of ethnic and gender identity, tradition, religious communities and remembered history.

Aims

· To explore the main historical characteristics of Judaism, including its “religious” dimension, some of its practices and interactions with other cultural traditions· To introduce and critique various ways in which the academic discourse approaches Judaism and other culture

Teaching and learning methods

In the lecture the main topics and academic methodologies will be introduced and discussed. The readings relating to each lecture topic are discussed in the seminar of the week. You should prepare the lecture materials (available on Blackboard) and the reading in the days before the seminar. You will have an opportunity to introduce the seminar reading at group meetings, and contribute critically to the of every weekly theme. The reading assignments require regular work outside classes and in advance of the seminars, practicing a number of skills, including close study of assigned texts, note taking, summarizing and excerpting, and the creation of texts in note form. I will guide you through your preparation of the assessed Essay in a number of ways, including a formative exercise for which you will have feedback, formal advice in the lecture, a seminar meeting devoted to this, and documents on Blackboard.

Knowledge and understanding

  • Distinguish critically key trends and stages in of the historical development of Judaism
  • Provide a critical account of ways in which there is unity and diversity within Judaism
  • Consider the meaning of key ideas, and the texts and practices in which they function
  • Discuss critically how Judaism has related to other cultures
  • Identify and evaluate various approaches to the academic idea of “religion”

Intellectual skills

Students will have:

  • developed their ability to provide accurate accounts of information
  • enhanced their skill in assessing arguments critically
  • developed the skill to assess progress in their own learning
  • enhanced their skill in finding, evaluating, summarising technical information

Practical skills

  • listening and taking notes in lectures
  • time planning
  • using internet and physical information resources

Transferable skills and personal qualities

  • communicate clearly in written and oral forms
  • participate appropriately in a learning group
  • self-motivation

Employability skills

Project management
· practise effective expression of ideas, as well as appropriate and accurate communication of information; · enhance their ability to recognise different perspectives while assessing critically the evidence for positions and arguments; · improve their ability find, evaluate, synthesize technical information from a variety of sources; · gain an awareness of the social and community contexts of the academic field of study.
Other
Students will: · practice skills in the critical analysis of real world situations within a defined range of contexts; · demonstrate a degree of professionalism, including creativity, motivation, accuracy and self-management;

Assessment methods

Draft Essay Introduction0%
Essay60%
Exam40%

 

Feedback methods

Feedback methodFormative or Summative
Written feedback on the draft of an introductionFormative
Written feedback on the EssaySummative
Additional one-to-one feedback (during the consultation hour, or by making an appointment)Formative
Written feedback on ExamSummative

 

Recommended reading

  • P.S. Alexander, Textual Sources for the Study of Judaism (1984)
  • J.R. Baskin and K. Seeskin (eds), The Cambridge Guide to Jewish History, Religion, and Culture (2010)
  • D. Cohn-Sherbok, Judaism: History, Belief and Practice (2003)
  • N. De Lange, An Introduction to Judaism (2000, 20102) 
  • E. Segal, Introducing Judaism (2009)
  • N. Solomon, Judaism: A Very Short Introduction (1996, 20002)
  • A. Unterman, Jews: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (1981)

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 22
Seminars 11
Independent study hours
Independent study 167

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Alexander Samely Unit coordinator

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