Jewish Studies Program

The Mission of Jewish studies at penn state

The Jewish Studies Program offers a major and minor in Jewish Studies, as well as a minor in Hebrew. In addition to our academic programs, we sponsor a variety of events connected to the study of Judaism and the Jewish experience, including lectures, film screenings, discussions, and sponsored field trips. Together these foster student engagement with Jewish issues, and expose students to the many disciplines and career options within Jewish Studies.

Jewish Studies at Penn State is an interdisciplinary program that exposes students to the history, literatures and languages of the Jewish people.  Students are introduced to the methodologies of historical inquiry, social science, linguistics, comparative literature, philosophy and archaeology.  Our program has developed particular strength in the Bible and the ancient world, and modern Jewish history and culture in the diaspora and the State of Israel. Students are guided by faculty with expertise in biblical archaeology, Semitic linguistics, Hebrew Bible and rabbinics, the Holocaust and its aftermath, and the ethnohistory of American Jewish life.

The Hebrew minor offers instruction in both modern and Biblical Hebrew for those students who wish to pursue their study of the language beyond the elementary level. The program is conducted cooperatively with the Department of Comparative Literature and in collaboration with the Department of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies

During the academic year a range of talks, symposia, film screenings, visits to those museums in our region that emphasize Jewish content, and other cultural activities are held in concert with an number of organizations, including other academic programs, the student Jewish Studies organization, Jewish Awareness, Diversity, Education (JADE) and Penn State Hillel.

Through these efforts we continue to work toward achieving our central goal of providing a rich campus nexus of resources at Penn State for the scholarly exploration of those issues that have and continue to shape Jewish lives around the globe.

Sincerely,

Brian Hesse, Director