Jewish Studies Fall 2026 Courses

Fall Weekly Courses | Make your selection by July 20, 2026

Dear Jewish Studies Students:

Learn with colleagues from across North America and beyond!

This Fall, Spertus is excited to offer three Jewish Studies courses, including two entirely new additions to the curriculum. Taught by distinguished international faculty members, these courses span the ancient Mediterranean to the present, providing students with the opportunity to engage in rigorous textual analysis, intellectual exchange, and historical inquiry. Course topics range from Jewish and non-Jewish conversion narratives across Europe and the Middle East, to the history of antisemitism across time and place, and the development of modern Jewish intellectual traditions. These courses fulfill degree requirements for both Master’s and Doctoral-level students. 

Registration is now open. If you have questions about registration, contact Scarlett Andes, Manager of Student & Faculty Services, at sandes@spertus.edu.To schedule an advising appointment or to discuss your choice of courses, please email me at dfarah@spertus.edu.

Yours,

Dr. Daniella Farah
Assistant Director of Jewish Studies
Professor of Jewish Studies
Spertus Institute for Learning and Leadership

Preferred registration deadline: July 2
Final registration deadline: July 20

Fall 2026 | Online Weekly Courses | September-November 2026

Narrating Conversion and Change

Taught by Dr. Shai Zamir
3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS 2nd Level Core or Elective | DSJS Core (Intergroup Relations), Text, or Elective | DHL Text or Elective Core Reading Course

8 Sessions | Meets Wednesdays from 11 AM to 1:30 PM CT via Zoom
September 9, 16, 23, 30 | October 7, 14, 21, 28

Can we change? And if so, how would such change manifest itself in words? How can a spiritual or inner change be seen, and for what purposes? Do we change for other people to notice? Would they believe our “conversion” story? Does change require belief? Does it have a history? How do different religious traditions portray change? Do we live in a time when we are forced to change constantly? Do we take classes because we hope to change through the acts of reading and writing?
In this course, we will read key texts from the ancient Mediterranean to the early modern era to explore how philosophers, historians, and novelists envisioned change, especially in the context of the Jewish and Christian traditions. We will learn how to think historically about subjects such as the self, narrative, rhetoric, and transformation, while learning about missionary efforts, miraculous changes, and even werewolves, and reading fundamental texts in world literature and thought, from the Bible to the picaresque novel.

A History of Antisemitism

Taught by Dr. Marc Dollinger
3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS 2nd Level Core or Elective | DSJS Elective | DHL Elective Core Reading Course

8 Sessions | Meets Tuesdays from 6 PM to 8:30 PM CT via Zoom
September 29 | October 6, 13, 20 | November 3, 10, 17, 24

One of the most debated and contested topics in contemporary Jewish life, antisemitism (or accusations of it) have paralleled the history of Jews and Judaism itself, from ancient charges of deicide to medieval accusations of blood libel, to modern eugenics-informed assumptions about Jewish biological inferiority that led to the Nazi genocide. Today, intense Jewish communal debates over whether (or how) anti-Zionism becomes antisemitism surface at least three competing formal definitions of antisemitism itself. Join us for a semester-long immersion in “the longest hatred” as we engage the subject’s most important scholarly articles and books in order to gain a deeper, more complex and nuanced understanding of antisemitism over time and place. Units include ancient anti-Judaism, medieval Jew hatred, and modern antisemitism, culminating in an extended study of the contemporary scene.

Great Modern Jewish Thinkers

Taught by Dr. Claire Sufrin
3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Core (Modern Jewish Experiences) or Elective | DSJS Core (Jewish Thinking) or Elective | DHL Core (Jewish Thought) or Elective Core Reading Course

8 Sessions | Meets Thursdays from 6:30 PM to 9 PM CT via Zoom
October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 | November 5, 12, and 19

In this course, we will explore the Jewish intellectual tradition as it developed during the 20th century. We will focus in particular on thinkers responding to the failures of the Enlightenment that had reshaped European society and, with it, modern Judaism, in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Course Registration Details

Course registration is for current Spertus Institute Jewish Studies students. Please review course details before completing your registration.

Before registering for courses, students must be admitted to one of Spertus Institute’s Jewish Studies graduate programs — or be accepted as a non-degree student who meets prerequisite requirements and wishes to enroll in courses for credit. If you are interested in applying to become a Spertus Jewish Studies graduate student, please contact Amie Barrish at abarrish@spertus.edu.

July 2, 2026 — Preferred Registration Deadline
July 20, 2026 — Final Registration Deadline

Register for Fall 2026 Courses

Course Payment

Spertus students must be in good standing to be eligible to register. This means:

• GPA is 2.7 or above.
• Financial account does not have an overdue balance.

Students who do not meet the financial criteria will need to pay down their overdue balance prior to registering for courses.

Course Costs

For MA in Jewish Studies (MAJS) Students
$400 per quarter-hour credit ($1200 per 3qh course)

For DS in Jewish Studies (DSJS) and Doctor of Hebrew Letters (DHL) Students
$475 per quarter-hour credit ($1425 per 3qh course)

A non-refundable $25 fee is charged on all course registration forms.

Refund policies vary by course format. Please review the specific policy listed on your course registration form.

Course auditing can be arranged on a select basis with approval from the Assistant Director of Jewish Studies. Audited course tuition is $350 per 3qh course.

Questions

For questions relating to Jewish Studies courses or registration, including which course to register for next, please contact Scarlett Andes at sandes@spertus.edu.