RLB305 Proseminar for Judaism

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2010
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Dalibor Papoušek, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Kristýna Kuboňová (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. David Václavík, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Lucie Čelková
Timetable of Seminar Groups
RLB305/P1: each even Thursday 11:40–13:15 zruseno D21, K. Kuboňová, D. Papoušek
RLB305/P2: each odd Thursday 11:40–13:15 zruseno D21, K. Kuboňová, D. Papoušek
Prerequisites (in Czech)
NOW ( RLA05 Judaism )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 40 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/40, only registered: 0/40
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Annotation
The course expands the contents of the basic course on Judaism (RLA05). The seminars are focused on key problems that are mentioned in the basic course but cannot be (due to the limited time) exhaustively discussed. Discussions in seminars, scheduled according to the basic course, are concentrated on representative sources.
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- use the basic terminology of Judaism and its academic study;
- interprete the selected Jewish source material in Czech translation (e.g. biblical text, halakhic commentary, Hasidic legend, religious pamphlet etc.);
- formulate correct arguments grounded in individual study of assigned readings;
- prepare an individual presentation on a given topic;
- debate academic aspects of religious topics assigned according to the syllabus of the course.
Syllabus
  • (0) Introduction to the course. (1) The cult of ancestors in ancient Israel (structure of Biblical texts concerning the patriarchs, the cult of ancestors in general, transformations of the cult of ancestors in Israel, akedah –polemics against child sacrifices). (2) Cosmogony (two versions of Biblical cosmogony, cosmos and chaos in Hebrew cosmogony, Greek and Hebrew conception of cosmogony, Greek and Hebrew conception of body and soul). (3) Guided visit to the Brno Synagogue. (4) Yehuda Loew ben Bezalel (the rise of the Prague Jewish community during the 17th century, Maharal of Prague, Maharal and the legend about the Golem, Maharal's conception of mitzvot). (5) Hasidic legends (Eastern European context of Hasidism, Hasidism in the conception of Martin Buber, Hasidism in the conception of Jiří Langer, Hasidism in the conception of Elie Wiesel). (6) Hilsner affair (general definition of antisemitism, historical context of the murder in Polná, reactions to the case of Hislner, Hilsner affair in comparative aspects).
Literature
  • Hebrejská bible a dějiny : úvod do starozákonní literatury. Edited by Rolf Rendtorff, Translated by Jiří Hoblík. Vyd. 1. Praha: Vyšehrad, 1996, 375 s. ISBN 8070211903. info
  • TRESMONTANT, Claude. Bible a antická tradice : esej o hebrejském myšlení. Translated by Jan Sokol. Vyd. 1. Praha: Vyšehrad, 1998, 175 s. ISBN 8070212705. info
  • NEHER, André. Studna exilu :tradice a modernost : myšlenkový svět Jehudy ben Becalel - rabi Löwa, pražského MaHaRaLa : (1512-1609). Translated by Alena Bláhová. Vyd. 1. Praha: Sefer, 1993, 173 s. ISBN 80-900895-6-9. info
  • HAUMANN, Heiko. Dějiny východních Židů. Olomouc: Votobia, 1997, 224 s. ISBN 80-7198-181-8. info
  • KOVTUN, Jiří. Tajuplná vražda :případ Leopolda Hilsnera. Vyd. 1. Praha: Sefer, 1994, 574 s. ISBN 80-900895-9-3. info
Teaching methods
Class discussions grounded in home readings and individually prepared presentations.
Assessment methods
Requirements for the colloquium:
(a) active participation in class discussions;
(b) written commentaries in given sources;
(c) written seminar paper defenced in a class discussion.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujícího.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2007, Autumn 2008, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2010, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2010/RLB305