Jewish studies at Santa Cruz is an intellectually compelling, interdisciplinary program that offers students a broad range of courses in Jewish culture, especially its literature, art, and history, as well as its ethics, folk practices, and philosophy. The program focuses on the modern era, and explores the profound impact of modernization on traditional Jewish life and, concomitantly, the critical role played by Jews on the formation of modernity. In addition to the core curriculum in modern Jewish culture, students also acquire a strong foundation in ancient and medieval Judaism, including the Hebrew Bible, rabbinic texts, Jewish mysticism, and medieval Jewish history and literature.

Study and Research Opportunities

• B.A., undergraduate minor
• Lectures, exhibits, conferences, interdisciplinary dialogues, and colloquia hosted or co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies (cjs.ucsc.edu).
• McHenry Library offers an extensive collection of Jewish studies resources.

High School Preparation

High school students planning to major or minor in Jewish studies at UC Santa Cruz need no special preparation other than the high school courses necessary for UC admission. Some background courses in history and Hebrew language are helpful but not essential.

Transfer Preparation

Jewish Studies majors must take a minimum of six regularly scheduled Jewish Studies courses plus the comprehensive requirement from members of the UCSC Jewish Studies faculty. Subject to the limits indicated, courses from the following categories may be applied to the Jewish Studies major:

• TRANSFER COURSE: Courses taken at another institution (limit of 3)
• EAP: Education Abroad Program (limit of 3)
• COURSE SUBSTITUTION: Related courses not currently on the pre-approved Jewish Studies course list (limit of 2)
• OTHER: Independent and field studies (limit of 1)

Jewish Studies minors may apply a maximum of three outside courses towards their course requirements.

Transfer students will find it useful to complete courses that satisfy campus general education requirements before coming to UC Santa Cruz. While it is not a condition of admission, students from California community colleges may complete the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) in preparation for transfer to UC Santa Cruz.

Transfer course agreements and articulation between the University of California and California community colleges can be accessed on the ASSIST.ORG web site.

Jewish Studies Faculty

Faculty members from departments throughout the university participate in the Jewish studies program. These distinguished scholars include internationally-renowned experts in the humanities, arts, and social sciences.

Principal Faculty:

• Bettina Aptheker, Professor of Feminist Studies
• Murray Baumgarten, Professor of English and Comparative Literature
• Margaret Brose, Professor Emerita of Literature
• Paula Daccarett, Visiting Assistant Professor of History
• Nathaniel Deutsch, Professor of History
• Barbara Epstein, Professor of History of Consciousness
• Gildas Hamel, Senior Lecturer of History and Classical Languages
• Peter Kenez, Professor Emeritus of History
• Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, Lecturer in Hebrew
• Dan Selden, Professor of Literature
• Bruce Thompson, Continuing Lecturer in History

Careers

• Business
• Communications
• Foreign service
• Historic preservation
• Historical research
• International relations
• International trade
• Journalism
• Law
• Museum management
• Public administration
• Publishing
• Teaching
• Theology
• Writing

These are only samples of the field’s many possibilities.

Requirements for the Major

A prerequisite for the Jewish studies major is three quarters of lower-division instruction in a Jewish language in any combination of the student's choosing: elementary Hebrew (Hebrew 1, Hebrew 2, Hebrew 3); Hebrew 80, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew; elementary Yiddish (Yiddish 1, Yiddish 2); or equivalent. Transfer students who must take three quarters of instruction in a Jewish language are permitted to declare the major upon the successful completion of one quarter of elementary language instruction. Students are also encouraged to take Hebrew 4 and Hebrew 5. The major requires a minimum of 11 courses, plus the comprehensive requirement. In consultation with a faculty adviser, students will plan a program of study to fulfill the following distribution of courses:

• History 74, An Introduction to Jewish History and Culture or Literature 61J, An Introduction to Jewish Literature and Culture
• History 80W/Literature 80L, The Holocaust: The Destruction of European Jewry or History 75, Film and the Holocaust
• two upper-division history core courses
• two upper-division literature core courses
• four elective courses, three of which must be upper-division
• one comprehensive exit requirement (see below)

Comprehensive Exit Requirement

Students may satisfy the Jewish studies comprehensive exit requirement by completing an approved exit seminar (offered by History or Literature) or a senior thesis (Jewish Studies 195A and 195B).

Chronological Distribution Requirements

Students whose major area of interest is not Jewish studies may nonetheless find that a minor in Jewish studies makes an invaluable contribution to their studies. The minor requires a total of eight courses and must include the following:

• one course must satisfy the classical chronological distribution requirement
• one course must satisfy the modern chronological distribution requirement
• one course must satisfy the Holocaust chronological distribution requirement, which is accomplished by completing HIS 80W/LIT 80L, The Holocaust: The Destruction of European Jewry or HIS 75, Film and the Holocaust

Requirements for the Minor

Among the 13 courses required for the major, at least three must meet the following chronological distribution requirements:

• one of the following courses: History 74, An Introduction to Jewish History and Culture, Literature 61J, An Introduction to Jewish Literature and Culture, History 80W/Literature 80L, The Holocaust: The Destruction of European Jewry or History 75, Film and the Holocaust
• three upper-division core courses from the Jewish studies curriculum
• four additional courses from the Jewish studies curriculum, two of which must be upper division

More Information

History Department
Humanities 1, Room 201
University of California, Santa Cruz
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, California 95064
(831) 459-4658
historyundergrad@ucsc.edu