Hebrew

Contact: Professor Stacy Beckwith

Think beyond the Bible! Modern Hebrew is vital in many professional fields besides religion, international relations, history, and archaeology. Hebrew is perfect for students who like logic and/or are seeking to study a language with many intriguing historical and cultural layers. Students can fulfill their general language requirement with Hebrew.

Can I major in it? Currently, no major or concentration is offered.

Topics explored: Israeli history, literature and society through popular Israeli music, radio and television programs, films, and Hebrew texts ranging from newspaper, to fiction, to memoir; Jewish history and folklore around the Mediterranean.

How to get started: For students beginning study of Hebrew, begin by enrolling in Hebrew 101 winter term. Any interested student can enroll in HEBR 100: Personal and National Identity in Israeli and Palestinian Literature.

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Think beyond the Bible! Modern Hebrew is a vital language in a wide range of professional fields in addition to religion, history, and archaeology. For students who like logic, or a language with many intriguing cultural layers, Hebrew is definitely for them.

Why? What is it? Hebrew is the language of the Jewish people, but students do not have to be Jewish or have prior exposure to Hebrew to master it quickly and well from the ground up Students can fulfill their general language requirement with Hebrew.

A professor who has lived in several settings in Israel, most recently as a Fulbright scholar, teaches all the Hebrew language sequence with assistance from a professionally trained Israeli language associate.

The Hebrew sequence: The introduction sequence integrates listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Modern Hebrew at all levels, with steady exposure to a variety of texts by and for native Israeli speakers.

Hebrew 101 and 102: Working with a new textbook and audio CD from Brandeis University, and with technology in our Language Center, we are able to stress oral proficiency so that students can function in everyday contexts in Israel after completing these classes. In class activities include Karaoke in Hebrew with Israeli pop music!

Hebrew 103 and 204: Working with Israeli literature, historical memoirs, and contemporary media, we focus on complexities in Israel's multicultural society today. Through research projects, poster sessions, and in class magazines that we publish in Hebrew, students strengthen their proficiency and can expect to end our sequence within the fourth of six levels in Israel's national Ulpan language instruction system.

Hebrew outside of class! Twice a month we screen many of the latest highly acclaimed films from Israel. We alternate these with Hebrew Circle evenings, where students listen to a talk in Hebrew by faculty, advanced students, and guest speakers on a range of current and historical topics, followed by discussion in Hebrew. Beginners are encouraged to listen and participate in Hebrew Circle evenings and in weekly Hebrew lunch tables, as well.

Off Campus Study: The Jonathan Paradise Israel Experience fund provides two to three annual scholarships for a wide range of study and/or volunteer options in Israel.

Literature and Culture Courses in Translation: A first-year seminar, Personal and National Identity in Israeli and Palestinian Literature, counts toward Carleton's Recognition and Affirmation of Difference (RAD) requirement and the Writing Requirement (WR). An upper level RAD course in Israeli literature focuses on themes such as Israel: dream versus reality, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in national memory, and women in Israeli literature: writers and fictional characters. Advanced Hebrew students may complete a portion of coursework in this literature class in Hebrew.