Varieties of Ancient Judaism (330-0-20)
Topic
Rabbinic Sex Stories
Instructors
Shira E Schwartz
Meeting Info
University Library 4670: Mon, Wed 12:30PM - 1:50PM
Overview of class
Rabbinic Sex Stories
Do rabbis have sex? Is Jewish knowledge erotic? And what is "the Talmud"? This course will explore these questions in relation to the original rabbis of late antiquity (3rd-7th centuries CE) through narratives, myths, and ethnographic accounts about rabbinic sex, gender and sexuality in the Babylonian and Palestinian Talmuds. You will learn to expand the definition of what constitutes "sex" or "desire," "kinship" or "connection," "body" or "text," by examining ancient rabbinic forms of gendered, textual, and bodily transmission. Students will learn to become curious about bodily norms that are quite removed from the worlds that we inhabit no matter one's starting point, and will learn to make connections across the ancient and contemporary.
This is a deep-reading, discussion-based course that will provide students with an opportunity to learn how to read rabbinic texts in translation, to generate conversational learning through Jewish textual practices like question-and-response, and partnered study, also known as hevruta, and to deepen your knowledge of contemporary theory in gender/sex and sexuality. We will focus our attention continuously and deeply on a few key rabbinic texts, taking our time to plumb their many layers and the dynamic quality of rabbinic interpretive possibilities. No previous knowledge of Talmud or other Jewish texts required.
*Counts toward Religion, Law, and Politics (RLP) and Religion, Sexuality and Gender (RSG) major concentrations.
Class Attributes
Ethics & Values Distro Area