November 30, 2009
Welcome back from Break!
Jewish Studies
Diane and Malcom Rosenberg Program in Judaic Studies
The Virginia Tech Judaic Studies Program is an interdisciplinary program that emphasizes Jewish civilization and community. Judaic Studies provides students the opportunity to explore over three millennia of Jewish culture, history, and literature from the Bible to contemporary Jewish thought and society. In the intellectually stimulating setting of the university, Judaic studies can be of great interest to students who decide to minor in Judaic studies as well as those who decide to explore several classes.
Hillel's hope is that on any particular campus the possibility exists for students take a number of Jewish Studies courses and that will be a portal into Jewish life along side Hillel.
The cross-fertilization of ideas is an inherent part of the Jewish Studies Program. Jewish theory of community, for example, sheds light on our understanding of social organizations. Furthermore, studies of the interpretive practices in the Jewish tradition mesh well with the current interest in reading and textual analysis. Jewish Studies can also provide a context for understanding the long history of relations among Jewish, Christian, and Islamic cultures. The nature of the Jewish experience and the methods of Jewish thought are in their essence multidisciplinary. As a result, the Jewish Studies program is housed in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies.
Students who have studied in the program have gone on to pursue a variety of paths. Thus far, they include rabbinical school, graduate school, research, governmental work, and education.
For more information, visit the Jewish Studies Program's website.