Undergraduate   |   Graduate

Jewish Studies Program Details - Graduate

At the present time, this program focuses specifically on the study of Modern Judaism. Three sub-areas of Modern Judaism are studied: Textuality, or the study of how modern Jews re-interpret Judaism's sacred text tradition; Practice, or modern approaches to the rituals, observances, and social practices of Judaism; and Thought, or studies of the encounter between Judaism and Western, as well as non-Western, philosophical sources.

UVA's Graduate Program in the Study of Judaism currently offers an MA and PhD concentration in "Modern Judaism: Textuality, Practice, and Thought." This concentration prepares students for advanced research and teaching about the Jewish religion in the modern world. Courses are offered in three sub-areas:

  • Textuality: The study of Judaism's foundational sacred texts in dialogue with modernity. The program examines how modern Jews have given life to these texts through interpretive practices that both sacralize and secularize them.
  • Practice: Modern approaches to Jewish rituals, observances, culture and politics, foodways, and learning. The program focuses on how the practices of Judaism are transmitted, experienced, transformed and regularized.
  • Thought: The encounter between Judaism and Western, as well as non-Western, philosophical sources. The program examines the intellectual history of modern Judaism, from the Enlightenment era through the phenomenon of Jewish postmodernism.

    • While taking courses in all three sub-areas, students are required to choose one sub-area as their area of specialization for the Ph.D.

    The Graduate concentration in Modern Judaism is administered by a Core Faculty from the Department of Religious Studies. Their teaching areas are the following:

  • Elizabeth Shanks Alexander: Rabbinic literature and hermeneutics, Mishnaic textuality, Orality in ancient literature, Gender and Judaism, Ethics and theology of the Rabbis.
  • Asher Biemann (co-director of graduate studies): Modern Jewish thought, German-Jewish intellectual history; Secularization and Jewish orthodoxies, Zionism, Philosophies of dialogue, Jewish conceptions of renaissance, Judaism and the arts.
  • Vanessa Ochs: Jewish ritual studies and material culture, Jewish women's experience, Literature of Jewish spirituality, Foodways in Judaism and Christianity, Jewish healing practices, Jewish feminism.
  • Peter Ochs (co-director of graduate studies): Jewish philosophy and theology, Postmodern and semiotic approaches to Rabbinic literature, Scriptural reasoning in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

    • Students may also work with the Program's thirty Affiliated Faculty, which includes the following:

  • Gerard Alexander (Politics: Politics of Holocaust)
  • Alon Confino (History: German and Jewish history, Holocaust)
  • Gabriel Finder (History: Jewish History, Holocaust Studies)
  • Harry Gamble (Religious Studies: Early Christianity, Scripture)
  • Jennifer Geddes (Religious Studies: Holocaust Literature)
  • Jeffrey Grossman (German: German Jewish Literature, Yiddish)
  • Eleanor Kaufman (English: Postmodern Jewish Thought)
  • Judith Kovacs (Religious Studies: Classics and Early Christianity)
  • Phyllis Leffler (History: Southern Jewish History)
  • Daniel Lefkowitz (Anthropology: Hebrew Linguistics, Israel)
  • Caroline Rody (English: Jewish American Literature)
  • Robert Wilken (Religious Studies: Early Christianity)

    • Requirements for the PhD

    For all candidates within the Department of Religious Studies:

    UVa's PhD concentration in the Study of Judaism is offered as a Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies. All Doctor of Philosophy Candidates who do not hold a graduate degree are required to pass a minimum of 54 credits in courses at the 500 level and above, plus 18 additional credits (which may be taken in non-graded non-topical research consultation). Students who already hold a graduate degree in Religious Studies from another University (M.A., M.Div., or equivalent) may petition for advanced standing at the end of their first year of residence and be permitted to waive up to 24 credits of the course-work requirement.

    For candidates concentrating in the Study of Judaism:

    Candidates are required to pass four Foundational Courses:

  • Two courses within the sub-area of Textuality: one course in Biblical Studies, one course in Rabbinic Literature
  • One course within the sub-area of Practice
  • One course within the sub-area of Thought

    • Languages
    Like all Doctor of Philosophy Candidates in Religious Studies, candidates in the Study of Judaism must demonstrate by examination a reading competency in both French and German, but substitutions may be approved when other languages are appropriate to the field of concentration. Candidates in the Study of Judaism must also demonstrate by examination a reading competency in Modern Hebrew (which may be substituted for either French or German) and in Biblical Hebrew.

    Advisor
    Students should engage one member of the Core Faculty in the Study of Judaism as graduate advisor. Individual courses of study must be approved by the advisor, in consultation with the Core Faculty.

    Comprehensive Examinations
    No sooner than one semester and no later than one year after the completion of all coursework and language examinations, candidates must pass five comprehensive examinations in the Study of Judaism. The examinations must be taken in the following five areas:

  • Textuality: Biblical Literature; Rabbinic Literature; and Methods of Text Study. A six hour exam.
  • Practice: Ritual Theory and Methods of Study; Historical Studies in Jewish Practice. A six hour exam.
  • Thought: Enlightenment era (16-17th centuries); Modern era (18-19th centuries); Contemporary era (20-21st centuries). A six hour exam.
  • Modern Jewish History: A three hour exam.
  • Special Topics: Issues in the Study of Modern Judaism. A three hour exam designed, in consultation with the Faculty, within the student's concentration of study.

    • Requirements for the MA

    For all candidates within the Department of Religious Studies:

    UVa's MA concentration in the Study of Judaism is offered as an MA in Religious Studies. The MA in Religious Studies has the following general requirements:

    Either
  • The successful completion of 24 credit hours of course work, of which at least 6 hours must be taken in courses with a strong emphasis on method; and the preparation and successful defense of a thesis which exhibits competence in the area of specialization, skill in a given method of study, and an ability to employ resources in the relevant foreign language(s).
    • or
  • The successful completion of 30 credit hours of course work, of which at least 6 hours must be taken in courses with a strong emphasis on method; and the satisfactory performance in a comprehensive examination based upon a reading list approved by the relevant field committee.

    • (The choice between these options is determined in consultation between the student and faculty advisors, and with a view to the student's objectives in graduate study.)

    A reading knowledge of either French or German and either Biblical or Modern Hebrew must to be demonstrated by examination (although another language may be substituted under appropriate circumstances and with the approval of the Committee on Graduate Studies).

    For candidates concentrating in the Study of Judaism:

    Candidates are required to pass three Foundational Courses:

  • Within the sub-area of Textuality: one course in Biblical Studies or one course in Rabbinic Literature
  • One course within the sub-area of Practice
  • One course within the sub-area of Thought

    • Contact Information: Executive Committee

    Ida and Nathan Kolodiz Director of Jewish Studies Program, Director of Undergraduate Major
    Vanessa Ochs, Associate Professor of Religious Studies
    Phone: (434) 924-6722
    E-mail: vanessa@virginia.edu

    Co-Director of Graduate Studies
    Peter Ochs, Edgar Bronfman Professor of Modern Jewish Thought
    Phone: (434) 924-6718
    E-mail: pochs@virginia.edu

    Co-Director of Graduate Studies
    Asher Biemann, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
    Phone: (434) 924-3643
    E-mail: ab5j@virginia.edu

    Elizabeth Shanks Alexander, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
    Phone: (434) 924-6711
    E-mail: esa3p@virginia.edu

    Jeffrey Grossman, Assistant Professor of German
    Phone: (434) 924-6693
    E-mail: jg2t@virginia.edu