Outline

Overview

This unit explores the history of European Jewry from the late eighteenth century until the eve of WW2. During this period ancient traditions met the modern forces of enlightenment and emancipation, industrialisation, democratisation and nation building. External pressures provoked profound internal responses as the challenges and opportunities of modernity radically reshaped Jewish thought and life. Students will develop an understanding of the intricacy of relations between Jews and non-Jews and an appreciation of the mosaic of European Jewish life destroyed during the Holocaust.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Hebrew, Biblical and Jewish Studies
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	12 credit points at 2000 level in Jewish Civilisation, Thought and Culture or 12 credit points at 2000 level in European Studies or 12 credit points at 2000 level in History or 12 credit points at 2000 level in Modern Hebrew
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Michael Abrahams-Sprod, michael.abrahams-sprod@sydney.edu.au
Guest lecturer(s)	Suzanne Rutland, suzanne.rutland@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Participation	Participation Participation	10%	Ongoing Due date: 27 May 2022 at 23:00 Closing date: 27 May 2022	Ongoing
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Research proposal/annotated bibliography Long answer	25%	Week 06 Due date: 30 Mar 2022 at 23:00 Closing date: 13 Apr 2022	1000 wds
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Research essay Long answer	50%	Week 12 Due date: 18 May 2022 at 23:00 Closing date: 01 Jun 2022	3000 wds
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	Discussion board activity Short answer	15%	Week 13 Due date: 25 May 2022 at 23:00 Closing date: 25 May 2022	500wds (2 X 250-word discussion posts)
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found in the Canvas site for this unit.

Assessment criteria

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Work demonstrates an excellent analytical framework discussed in depth and knowledgeable engagement with the topic; uses a wide range of primary and secondary sources to excellent effect; provides a thoughtful and original discussion of well-chosen examples/case studies; makes skilled use of writing style appropriate to the task; shows a high level of creativity and critical thinking.
Distinction	75 - 84	Work demonstrates a sound analytical framework discussed to some depth and knowledgeable engagement with the topic; uses a wide range of primary and secondary sources to good effect; provides a coherent and in-depth discussion of well-chosen examples/case studies; makes skilled use of writing style appropriate to the task; shows originality and depth of reflection.
Credit	65 - 74	Work demonstrates a sound analytical framework and knowledgeable engagement with the topic; uses a good range of primary and secondary sources to good effect; discusses well-chosen examples/case studies in some detail; employs a clear and mostly correct writing style appropriate to the task; shows original and critical thinking.
Pass	50 - 64	Work demonstrates at least a minimal analytical framework and engagement with the topic; a clear and coherent discussion in a writing style appropriate to the task; uses a limited but well-chosen range of primary and secondary sources and demonstrates a reasonable understanding of them; uses appropriate examples.
Fail	0 - 49	Work has no analytical framework and demonstrates insufficient engagement with the topic and primary and secondary sources; responses do not reflect the subject, are unclear or confused, and do not reveal an adequate understanding of the topic or sources.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Imagining and Reimagining Jewish Modernity: An Introduction	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	Western and Central Europe: Out of the Ghetto: Enlightenment, Emancipation and Integration. Case Study: Napoleon and the Jews	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	Imagining and Reimagining Jewish Modernity. How did the challenges of modernity affect Jewry? What were some of the early debates and responses on the 'Jewish Question'?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 03	Remaining Jewish becoming German: Patterns of acculturation. Case Study: The foundations of Reform, Conservative (Positive Historical) and Modern Orthodox Judaism	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 03	Western and Central Europe: Out of the Ghetto. Napoleon: Liberator of the Jews?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 04	Haskalah in Western Europe: Jewish Enlightenment and Intellectual Fervour. Case Study: Abraham Geiger and the Wissenschaft des Judentums	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 04	Remaining Jewish becoming German: Can Judaism be harmonised with nationalism? If yes, how so?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 05	Abandoning Jewish Ties: Strategies of Assimilation. Case Study: The Berlin Salons	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 05	Haskalah in Western Europe. What happens when religion and history collide? Can 'Providence' and 'History' sit by side?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 06	The Longest Hatred: From Christian Anti-Judaism to Modern Antisemitism	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 06	Abandoning Jewish Ties. The paths to assimilation were many and varied. But why were they so appealing?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 07	1. Haskalah in Eastern Europe: Latecomers to Modernity? Case Study: The impact of Tsarist policy on Eastern Haskalah. 2. Jews in the New World: Evolution of American Jewry. Guest Lecturer: Prof Suzanne Rutland	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 07	The Longest Hatred: How did antisemitism shape the modern Jewish experience? Does this external factor exert more influence on European Jewry than internal Jewish debates?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 08	1. Russian Jewry under Communism, 1917-1939. 2. On the Edge of the Diaspora: Jewish life in Australia prior to World War Two. Guest lecturer: Prof Suzanne Rutland	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 08	Haskalah in Eastern Europe. Did Eastern European Jewry experience modernity without emancipation or assimilation? If so, how?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 09	The Zionist Alternative: The quest for a Jewish homeland	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 09	The Emergence of American Jewry. Was America truly a 'Goldene Medina' for Russian Jewry?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 10	The Interwar Period in the East	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 10	Russian Jewry under Communism, 1917-1939. How does Communism change the daily life and communal culture of Russian Jewry?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 11	Jewish Youth in Interwar Poland	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 11	The Zionist Alternative: Modern Judaism without religion? What factors generated the rise of Jewish nationalism?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 12	The Interwar Period in the West: Jewish life in the Weimar Republic	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 12	The Interwar Period in the East: A time of persecution, but also a time of flourishing cultural, political and religious Jewish life. How do we account for such disparities?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 13	Jewish modernity: An unfinished project?	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 13	The Interwar Period in the West: The climax or the destruction of the so-called 'German-Jewish symbiosis'?	Tutorial (1 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: students are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board which will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.
Lecture Recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed from the ‘Reading List’ menu available on the Canvas site for this unit. Additional readings for each week will also appear in each weekly module.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Demonstrate an advanced knowledge of Jewish religion and practice as well as the Jewish historical experience over the longue durée.
LO2. Demonstrate specialised, in-depth knowledge of one or more aspects of Jewish civilisation, thought and culture (e.g. Holocaust history, modern Jewish thought, Israel studies).
LO3. Apply sophisticated theoretical tools to the study of Jewish civilisation, thought and culture including history (including intellectual history and transnational history), and/or religious studies.
LO4. Demonstrate thorough familiarity with and capacity to critically analyse, scholarly and non-scholarly resources available to scholars of Jewish civilisation, thought and culture.
LO5. Apply insights gained within Jewish civilisation, thought and culture to critically analyse current scholarship and engage confidently in critical debate in the broad disciplinary area.
LO6. Demonstrate sound competency in research-informed academic writing and referencing, as well as competency in other written genres such as reports and literature reviews.
LO7. Demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills, professional ethics and cultural competence.
LO8. Effectively apply skills and knowledge from the study of Jewish Civilisation, Thought and Culture to issues encountered in an interdisciplinary context.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Changes to this unit are made in each iteration of this unit, based on the USS, informal and formal feedback from students and colleagues and other pedagogical matters.

Additional information

Please see the JCTC3003 Canvas site for a week by week breakdown of readings in the modules and e-reserve sections.

Additional costs

n/a

Site visit guidelines

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Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Additional costs

Site visit guidelines

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

JCTC3003: The Modern Jewish Experience

Semester 1, 2022 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Additional costs

Site visit guidelines

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect