Jewish Women: Between Conformity and Agency

This undergraduate seminar studies Jewish women in different temporal and geographical contexts, internally within their own communities and externally with other neighboring religious groups. Visual and material sources (iconography, artefacts, architectures, film) are examined in dialogue with texts (biblical and Talmudic writings, medieval and modern commentaries, contemporary literature) to explore the binary of male authority and female agency. Case studies will encompass the Middle East and Europe from antiquity to the present. Two field trips will complement the visual and theoretical focus in class.