Portland State's Judaic Studies minor -- which can now become a major -- draws diverse lot
http://www.oregonlive.com/living/index.ssf/2010/12/judaic_studies_draws_diverse_l.html
When Rabbi Joshua Stampfer began teaching Hebrew at Portland State University in the 1960s, he didn't plan on the school ever having a full-blown Judaic studies program or offering a major in the subject so dear to his heart. But, given the sort of guy he is, he may well have hoped it would happen.
Now it has. A successful fundraising campaign will allow PSU's Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies to add a fourth, full-time professor so that it may offer a major beginning in 2012. Michael Weingrad, program director, says the hunt for an Israel studies scholar will begin next year. The new position will be named for Stampfer.
Already, the Judaic studies program serves about 500 students each year, many of whom are not Jewish and have no direct link to Judaism, Weingrad says. Some students take a class because it fits into their schedule or fulfills a university requirement. Once enrolled, many find they're fascinated with the subject -- whether it's literature, history or modern Hebrew -- and they stay on. Since 2007, it's been possible to earn a minor in Judaic studies at PSU. Twenty students are working toward that goal now. Recent graduates who have paired their minors with a variety of majors include:
Ivar Anderson, 29, a liberal studies major from Milwaukie, took a course on Jews and Judaism in post-World War II America. One of his good friends is Jewish, and Anderson says he's long been curious about Judaism and decided it would be good to "ground" his liberal studies in Judaic studies.
"The story of the Jews throughout history ... is a helpful lens for seeing the challenges of modernity and the challenges to our own understanding of human nature over the last century," he says.
Kevin Surface, 31, from Hillsboro, studied macromolecular biology and history. He, too, stumbled into Judaic studies, first taking an introduction to Judaism. Surface, who belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, lived in Poland during his mission experience. His encounters with concentration camps and Jewish graveyards and his knowledge of the intersections of Mormon teaching with the Hebrew Bible have fueled his studies.
"I'm a history junkie," he says.
Megan Dyer, 24, from Medford, an English major, took a course on messiahs in modern Jewish literature. She found she was drawn to work that "goes under the radar of the typical literary canon."
"Just being exposed to Israeli literature, the kind of experience that a lot of those authors have coming from a country in such a tumultuous state of being, made for some interesting perspectives," she says. She'll continue her Hebrew studies in Israel next year, thanks to a $15,000 fellowship from the U.S. government.
"I've never been to Israel," she says, excited at the prospect of experiencing the country herself. "There's plenty of literature out there in Hebrew."
http://www.oregonlive.com/living/index.ssf/2010/12/judaic_studies_draws_diverse_l.html
When Rabbi Joshua Stampfer began teaching Hebrew at Portland State University in the 1960s, he didn't plan on the school ever having a full-blown Judaic studies program or offering a major in the subject so dear to his heart. But, given the sort of guy he is, he may well have hoped it would happen.
Now it has. A successful fundraising campaign will allow PSU's Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies to add a fourth, full-time professor so that it may offer a major beginning in 2012. Michael Weingrad, program director, says the hunt for an Israel studies scholar will begin next year. The new position will be named for Stampfer.
Already, the Judaic studies program serves about 500 students each year, many of whom are not Jewish and have no direct link to Judaism, Weingrad says. Some students take a class because it fits into their schedule or fulfills a university requirement. Once enrolled, many find they're fascinated with the subject -- whether it's literature, history or modern Hebrew -- and they stay on. Since 2007, it's been possible to earn a minor in Judaic studies at PSU. Twenty students are working toward that goal now. Recent graduates who have paired their minors with a variety of majors include:
Ivar Anderson, 29, a liberal studies major from Milwaukie, took a course on Jews and Judaism in post-World War II America. One of his good friends is Jewish, and Anderson says he's long been curious about Judaism and decided it would be good to "ground" his liberal studies in Judaic studies.
"The story of the Jews throughout history ... is a helpful lens for seeing the challenges of modernity and the challenges to our own understanding of human nature over the last century," he says.
Kevin Surface, 31, from Hillsboro, studied macromolecular biology and history. He, too, stumbled into Judaic studies, first taking an introduction to Judaism. Surface, who belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, lived in Poland during his mission experience. His encounters with concentration camps and Jewish graveyards and his knowledge of the intersections of Mormon teaching with the Hebrew Bible have fueled his studies.
"I'm a history junkie," he says.
Megan Dyer, 24, from Medford, an English major, took a course on messiahs in modern Jewish literature. She found she was drawn to work that "goes under the radar of the typical literary canon."
"Just being exposed to Israeli literature, the kind of experience that a lot of those authors have coming from a country in such a tumultuous state of being, made for some interesting perspectives," she says. She'll continue her Hebrew studies in Israel next year, thanks to a $15,000 fellowship from the U.S. government.
"I've never been to Israel," she says, excited at the prospect of experiencing the country herself. "There's plenty of literature out there in Hebrew."
