Modern Jewish Thought - Voices of Tradition and Transformation

This seminar explores the intellectual revolution of Modern Jewish Thought from the Enlightenment through the present. Students will engage with canonical thinkers including Mendelssohn, Marx, Freud, Kafka, Buber, Rosenzweig, Benjamin, Arendt, Levinas, Heschel, Judith Plaskow and Judith Butler. We will examine how they navigated the tensions between Jewish tradition and European modernity. Accessible to both undergraduates and graduate students, the seminar offers different assignment tracks with graduate students expected to engage more deeply with primary texts and produce a substantial research paper. No prior knowledge of Jewish thought required, though familiarity with Western philosophy will be beneficial.