About this honours subject area

The fourth year honours program in Jewish Civilisation, Thought and Culture allows students to undertake advanced seminars on Jewish thought, practice and history, and write a research thesis on a topic of their choice.

To qualify for honours you must complete the major with an average of 70 percent or above, and a basic knowledge of at least one language associated with the Jewish experience (either Hebrew Classical or Modern, or German) is required. 

Most students choose a thesis topic within the modern Jewish experience, usually relating to the Holocaust, Israel or Australian Jewry, which are the specialist areas of academics within the Jewish Studies program.

You are encouraged to place your Honours thesis within the broader context of Jewish Civilisation and to continue with your language studies during an Honours year. This represents the department’s philosophy of the close connections between language, culture and in the Jewish case the Hebrew language and religious belief and practice. At the higher levels, whether relating to Biblical Studies or Jewish Civilisation, some knowledge of the Hebrew language is considered vital to a full understanding of the Jewish literature and heritage.