Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.

This course will provide a foundation in Talmud both from historical and cultural perspectives as well as by way of studying and becoming intimate with the text itself. Students will engage in ongoing rigorous study of a Talmudic sugya using a queer theoretical lens with a focus on teasing out radical rabbinic methodologies for subverting and upending the status quo. In order to promote coherence between the content and course format, students will be encouraged to learn at their own pace, to trust their intuitions which approaching unfamiliar material, to embody traditional modes of Talmudic study in chevrusa partnerships, and to move towards empowerment and ownership over the material. All levels welcome; no prior knowledge or experience necessary. Instructor Chloë (Zissel) Piazza is a PhD student in Near Eastern Studies with Designated Emphases in Jewish Studies and Gender and Women’s Studies. They are a teacher of Yiddish and Talmud and love learning and employing radical pedagogical methods.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.