INTRODUCTION TO JEWISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Full programme
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
No specific knowledge or experience is required.
Learning will be verified only through the final exam, carried out in oral form.
The exam aims to verify the learning of the topics of Hebrew language and Jewish culture addressed in class. The language part will be assessed through the reading, translation and grammatical analysis of one of the texts presented and commented on with the teacher during the course. The part of Jewish Culture will be evaluated through one or more open questions on a cultural topic covered during the course.
The notes taken during the lessons must be supplemented, for the part of the language, with the support of a book (Eliezer Tirkel, L'ebraico è facile, Giuntina, Florence 2015. See also the Bibliography on Leganto). As for the part of Jewish culture, attending students can rely on their notes and on the material distributed in class and/or provided by the teacher (ppts, links, etc.). For non-attending students, the language part must be agreed with the teacher and the cultural part must be studied on the following book (see also Bibliography on Leganto): Ph. Haddad, L'ebraismo (vd. anche Bibliografia su Leganto): Ph. Haddad, L’ebraismo spiegato ai miei amici. La sua storia, i suoi riti, le sue sfide, Firenze, Giuntina, 2007 (traduzione italiana di V. Lucattini Vogelmann).
The evaluation of the exam will take place in "30°" and will take into account in particular the following criteria:
1. Articulation and precision in the exposure of the contents acquired, both of Hebrew language and Jewsih culture;
2. Ability to present, summarize and elaborate the topics taught in class;
3. Correct and clear language.
Learning objectives:
The course aims at introducing to the study of the (modern) Hebrew language and Jewish culture, in an overview which reaches from the past to the contemporary age.
EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of the course, the student:
1. Will be able to read in Hebrew and translate into Italian some simple texts explained by the teacher in class.
2. will recognize some basic grammatical structures of the Hebrew language (article, noun, some verbs, some prepositions, personal pronouns).
3. will remember a small vocabulary of Hebrew and some recurring expressions of the basic communication (for example, greeting, introducing oneself, thanking, etc.).
4. will be acquainted with the main topics of the Jewish culture and will be able to talk (in Italian) about the contents learned in class, also thanks to some bibliography.
The course includes a part dedicated to the (modern) Hebrew language and a part dedicated to Jewish culture. The two parts will be carried out alternatively (one lesson of Hebrew language and one lesson of Jewish Culture per week), but a continuous connection and progression between the two fields will be maintained, so that they complement each other.
As for the Hebrew language, we will study:
the Hebrew alphabet; basic features of phonetics and morphology (noun, article, some prepositions, some verbs, pronouns); basic vocabulary and syntax; minimum sentences and first elements of communication.
As for the Jewish culture, the lessons will explore fundamental topics of the Jewish tradition such as: holidays and the calendar, the cycle of life, Shabbat, the sacred texts of Judaism, Jewish history in the Diaspora and in the land of Israel, thorugh the support of literature and art. The texts studied in class will be partly presented in Italian translation, partly, if very simple, in the original Hebrew.
As for the Hebrew language:
1.the consonant Hebrew alphabet and vowels.
2. Outlines of Hebrew phonetics.
3. Outlines of morphology:
- Noun.
- Article.
- Personal pronouns.
4. Syntax:
- noun phrase in the present tense;
5. First elements of communication:
introducing oneself, saying hello, thanking, asking for the time.
As for Jewish culture:
1. History of the Hebrew language
2. The Bible in the Jewish tradition.
3. Rabbinic literature: Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash.
4. The Holidays and the calendar.
5. Shabbat.(Saturday).
6. The cycle of life.
7. Moments of Jewish history and literature, in the Diaspora and in the land of Israel.
The course is divided into moments of frontal lessons, for which ppt, slides and videos will be used (especially for the part of Jewish culture) and in moments of direct involvement of the students (especially for the part of Language), in which exercises and short readings will take place together.
The teacher can be contacted for any request, doubt or question at the e-mail address: erica.baricci@uninsubria.it. She receives by appointment (to be fixed by e-mail) in "via Bossi 5" (Como).