Jewish Studies - UC Santa Barbara

Welcome!

Welcome to the Jewish Studies program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Jewish Studies has been a part of undergraduate studies here at UCSB for almost 60 years. During this time, the program has offered courses on Jewish people and their culture, the Holocaust, Jewish media, Biblical studies, Second Temple Judaism, Rabbinic studies, trauma and memory studies, and ancient and modern Hebrew.

Undergraduate students interested in the cultural, historical, and societal development of Judaism are encouraged to consider the Jewish Studies minor. Students in the minor will gain exposure to the Hebrew Bible, historical and religious developments in Judaism, and the contributions of Jewish thinkers to literature, culture, and society. Please visit the Jewish Studies’ Course Catalog for details on all available and upcoming Jewish Studies courses.

The Jewish Studies program is fortunate to have instructors from eight different departments throughout the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts at UCSB: the Department of Classics, the Department of English, the Department of Film and Media Studies, the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies, the Department of History, the Department of History of Art and Architecture, the Department of Political Science, and the Department of Religious Studies.

The Jewish Studies program at UCSB is generously supported by a $1,000,000 gift from the Marsha and Jay Glazer Foundation, who established the Marsha and Jay Glazer Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies in the Department of Religious Studies. Additionally, the Herman P. and Sophia Taubman Foundation Endowed Symposia in Jewish Studies at the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center has generously sponsored a number of conferences, lectures, and other events promoting Jewish Studies at the university. Please visit our News and Events Page to learn more about upcoming Jewish Studies events.

If you have any questions related to the Jewish Studies program, please contact Professor Juan Campo, the Chair of the Religious Studies Department, at campo@ucsb.edu. For questions about enrolling in the Jewish Studies minor, please contact Kailee Lencioni, the Religious Studies Undergraduate Program Coordinator and Advisor, at klencioni@hfa.ucsb.edu. For questions about the Jewish Studies website, please contact Daniel Zimmerman, the website manager, at dszimmerman@ucsb.edu.