Honours in Jewish Studies

Honours coordinator: Dr Dvir Abramovich

Honours in Jewish Studies prepares students for research and leads to the MA and PhD. Students enter Honours in Jewish Studies at fourth year and aim to develop an ability to evaluate critically the evolution of Jewish civilisation; to enhance skills of interpretation and analysis of texts of different kinds; to develop context; and to supply guided experience of conducting and reporting on research.

Jewish studies is only available as a Combined Honours program and the prerequisite for entry is completion of all requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree, including a major in Jewish or Hebrew studies with an overall average grade of H2B (70-74%) or better, at second and third year level. Elements of the prerequisite may be waived in certain cases with the agreement of relevant staff. Students undertaking Combined Honours must also meet the requirements for Honours in the combining department or area.

The research thesis is an important part of fourth year, and students are advised to obtain a supervisor and select a topic in good time, preferably before the end of third year.

Some previous investigations into Jewish and Hebrew studies undertaken by Honours students at the Centre include:

• Franz Kafka as a Modern Jew
• The Educational Purpose of the Haggadah
• War, Christendom and the Jews: Syncretism from the Early Church to the Massacre in Ashkenaz
• 'Where are the Women': An Overview of Female Hebrew Writers and Poets of the Period of Enlightenment and the First Aliyah (1781-1904)
• In the Presence of Burning Children: Christian and Jewish Theological Responses to the Holocaust
• Children's Literature in Hebrew
• Jewish North American Song-Writers and Their and Other People's Problems
• Immigration and Disappointment - Vision and Realisation: Gei Oni by Schulamit Lapid (in Hebrew)
• The Dating and Concept of Covenant in the Old Testament: A Review of Covenant Studies over the last Century
• The Commentary of Abraham Ben Meir Ibn Ezra on Exodus
• Conversion to Judaism and Islam in the Australian Community
• Women in Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) Combat Roles
• Cain and Abel in Jewish History and Literature