| Course Title: Against Productivity: Sabbath as Countercultural Practice |
| Start Date: 01/21/2020 End Date: 05/05/2020 |
| Term: Spring Semester 2020 |
| Description: The practice of a weekly day of rest dates back millennia. Today, the Sabbath beckons as an antidote to the relentless demand to be productive. This seminar explores the ideas, actions, and communal dimensions of the sacred day that anchors the seven-day calendar, focusing on Jewish texts and practices. Key themes include sacred time, cultural identity, and the transformation of religious life over time. Students explore the development of the Sabbath using narrative, folk, and legal primary sources and in experiential learning. Students will pursue an extended research project. |
| Distribution(s): I - Humanities |
| Academic Level Of Course: Undergraduate | Credits:4.00 |
| Faculty | Phone | Email address |
| Mara Benjamin | benjamin@mtholyoke.edu |
| Meeting Dates | Method | Meeting days | Meeting times | Building name | Room | Frequency |
| 01/21/2020 - 05/05/2020 | Discussion | Monday | 01:30PM - 04:20PM | CLAP - Clapp Laboratory | 225 | Weekly |
| Requisite Courses | ||
| None |
| Comments |
| Additional Comments |
| Course Tags | ||
| ASIAN0001 | ASIAN: Asian Studies minor | This course has been approved to count towards the Asian Studies minor. |
| MDEAS0001 | MDEAS: Middle Eastern Studies major | This course has been approved to count towards the Middle Eastern Studies major. |
| Cross-listed Sections |
| JWST-343-01 The Sabbath |
| RELIG-343-01 The Sabbath |
| Course Availability | ||||
| Section status: Open | Capacity: 18 | Enrollment: 12 | Available: 6 | Waitlist: 0 |
BOOK INFORMATION
| Book List | Required | Publisher Full Price |
| Title: The Jewish Study Bible paperback edition Author: Berlin, Adele Copyright: 2003 Edition: Volume: ISBN: Publisher: Oxford University Press |
Required | 32.99 |
| Title: The Sabbath Author: Heschel, Abraham Copyright: 1951 Edition: Volume: ISBN: 9781466800090 Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
Required | 8.98 |
| Additional Book Comments |
| This is NOT the complete book list for this class. |
| Copies are on order at Odyssey |