BA Religions, Theology and Ethics

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The course unit introduces you to the philosophical study of Jewish traditional and modern thought from historical and contemporary points of view. What role does embodiment and gendering play for the figure of the biblical God and for humans? How have Jewish philosophers understood historical change as affecting the meaning of the Hebrew Bible, and to what extent do they ascribe authority to it? What can one make of the idea of a creator-God? Are the detailed biblical commandments which the Bible claims were given to the people of Israel based on some implicit universal ethics? How has the landscape of Jewish philosophy and ethics changed after the Holocaust?

• To introduce students to the philosophical study of the Jewish religious and non-religious tradition from historical and contemporary points of view
• To explore Jewish philosophy thematically through topics such as the Body, Creation and Gender; notions of Time and History; Language and Revelation; and Society, Ethics and Commandments

 

There will be 11 one-hour lectures (11 x 1 = 1) and 11 seminars of two hours, i.e. 33 class contact hours. The lecture introduces you to the main topics and academic methodologies, while the readings relating to each lecture topic are discussed in the seminars. You will be expected to prepare the lecture materials (available on Blackboard) and the reading in the days before the seminar. You will have an opportunity to initiate discussion of the reading at the beginning of the seminar, will be encouraged to participate actively in asking questions of the reading. The weekly reading assignments require regular work outside classes and in advance of the seminars, including close study of assigned texts, note taking, summarising or excerpting, as well as the creation of texts in note form. The two seminar hours are devoted to help you come to grips with the task of learning how to read original philosophical texts. You will have the opportunity to learn how to do this by explicit instruction as well as concrete discussions of passages together. I will guide you through your preparation of the assessed Essays in a number of ways, including a formative exercise for which you will have feedback, formal advice in the lecture, an additional consultation meeting, and documents on Blackboard.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• critically distinguish key periods and groups of sources among philosophies of Judaism
• appreciate the variety of philosophical approaches to topics in Jewish tradition
• critically explain, and assess the strength of, central philosophical arguments in selected thinkers of Judaism and Jewishness
• make critical use of secondary sources on philosophy

 

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• effectively express ideas and deliver appropriate and accurate information about Jewish philosophy
• recognise different perspectives while assessing critically the evidence for positions and arguments
• manage their own academic development, including reflecting on progress and taking appropriate action
• find, evaluate and summarise technical information from a variety of sources

 

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• take effective notes during lectures
• plan their time effectively
• use internet and physical information resources with confidence

 

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• communicate clearly in written and oral forms
• participate appropriately in a learning group
• demonstrate enhanced aptitude for independent work
• demonstrate enhanced aptitude for self-motivation

 

 

 

Assessment Task	Formative or Summative	Weighting
Practice introduction to an essay	Formative	0%
Essay 1	Summative	50%
Essay 2	Summative	50%

 

Feedback method	Formative or Summative
Written feedback on mock introduction to an essay topic, if submitted by the end of week 4	Formative
Written feedback on essays 1 and 2	Summative
Additional one-to-one feedback (during the consultation hours or by appointment)	Formative

 

 

• K. Seeskin, “Jewish philosophy”, in The Cambridge Guide to Jewish History, Philosophy and Culture, edited by J. Baskin and K. Seeskin (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), pp. 381–398.
• Frank, D. H. and O. Leaman (eds.), History of Jewish Philosophy (London: Routledge 1997)
• Frank, D., O. Leaman and C. Manekin (eds.), The Jewish Philosophy Reader (London: Routledge, 2000)
• Kavka, M., D. Novak and Z. Braiterman (eds.), The Cambridge History of Jewish Philosophy, volume 2: The Modern Era (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2012)
• Nadler, S. and T. M. Rudavsky (eds.), The Cambridge History of Jewish Philosophy. From Antiquity through the Seventeenth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008)