May 29–August 7, 2008



Registration for Summer Institutes online courses ends May 27.

Read more about online learning opportunities at Hebrew College.

A pioneer in bringing Jewish learning to the Internet, Hebrew College Online (HCO) has offered distance learning courses since 1995. Students may take one course at a time, earn a master's degree online or integrate classroom-based courses with online counterparts to complete degree or certificate programs.

The most comprehensive Hebrew program available on the Internet, HCO offers four levels of online Hebrew language instruction. All online courses are designed to emulate the quality interaction that faculty and students experience on campus and are backed by user-friendly technical support.

All students who have not recently completed a Hebrew course in the College's academic programs are required to consult with the Hebrew language department for placement. Please call 617-559-5066 and/or consult the online self-placement tests.


Courses

UC=undergraduate credit; GC=graduate credit; NC=noncredit

Orientation to Online Study
May 27–28
INTD 101
Note: Mandatory for new online students, except for Hebrew Mekhina participants.

This brief seminar introduces students to all aspects of online study at Hebrew College. The class covers hardware, software, course components and navigation, methods of interaction and virtual class discussion, library resources, and more. Access to selected course(s) will become available once orientation is completed.

Mekhina (Preparation) for Hebrew Language
Levy
NC only, $550
HEBRW 010
Note: Offered online for both online and campus-based students. No prior knowledge of Hebrew is required. If you have some prior Hebrew study experience, but are not ready for Hebrew I, you may be able to join the Mekhina mid-semester. Please contact the Admissions Office at admissions@hebrewcollege.edu or 617-559-8610.

This course is designed to serve as an introduction to Hebrew language study and to ensure that students with some prior Hebrew study experience begin Hebrew I at comparable levels. The Mekhina introduces the Hebrew alphabet and vowels, as well as verbs and syntax sufficient for conducting simple daily conversation. Students submit oral and written homework and take online quizzes. Weekly real-time class discussions are conducted by the instructor with small groups of students. The course covers the seven introductory units of Ivrit Min Hahatchala (Hebrew from Scratch), the textbook used by Hebrew College’s campus-based and online Hebrew language programs.

Hebrew I Online
Levy
May 29–August 7
4 UC, $3,580; NC, $1,250
HEBRW 110
Prerequisite: Hebrew Mekhina or placement test.

This course enables students to recognize and use fundamental structures of Hebrew grammar and morphology, and to acquire the necessary vocabulary for basic conversation and reading of modern and classical texts. All language skills are mastered through elementary syntactic and grammatical structures. Students will learn the basic verbs in the different common active verb groups and their conjugation in the present and past tense. Students will read and listen to stories and dialogues, and participate in guided class discussions. Based on topics introduced in the lessons, students will write their own dialogues and passages. All language skills are mastered through more advanced syntactic and grammatical structures.

Hebrew II Online
Levy
May 29–August 7
4 UC, $3,580; NC, $1,250
HEBRW 210

A continuation of Hebrew I Online, this course enables students to recognize and use additional structures of Hebrew grammar, morphology and vocabulary to read modern and classical texts, and to engage in conversation. Students will read and listen to stories and dialogues, and participate in guided class discussions. Based on topics introduced in the lessons, students will write their own dialogues and passages. All language skills are mastered through more advanced syntactic and grammatical structures. Students will learn the past tense of verb groups introduced in Hebrew I.

Hebrew III Online
Levy
May 29–August 7
4 UC, $3,580; NC, $1,250
HEBRW 310

Students will learn to recognize and use new and more complex structures of Hebrew grammar and morphology, such as combined sentences, and will acquire vocabulary for advanced reading of modern and classical texts, and for conversation. Lessons include readings of longer passages, dialogues and stories. Students will be given the opportunity to practice the new syntactic and grammatical structures. Based on topics introduced in the lessons, students will write short expository passages and deepen their mastery of spoken Hebrew through participation in open conversation.

Hebrew IV Online
Levy
May 29–August 7
4 UC, $3,580; NC, $1,250
HEBRW 410

This course is designed for intermediate students who have successfully mastered Hebrew reading, writing and speaking skills. Students will practice writing directed and complex sentences, as well as free composition. In weekly oral assignments and class discussions, only Hebrew is spoken. Through extensive readings, students will expand their vocabulary and increase their familiarity with grammatical patterns. Students will learn the future tense of basic verbs in the strong verb groups, as well as frequently used weak verbs.

History and Memory: The Modern Period
Adelman
May 29–August 21
3 GC, $2,685; NC, $550
HIST 537

This course represents the final installment in a three-course sequence designed to orient the student to the ebb and flow, major transitions and defining moments in Jewish history. Beginning with the Age of Enlightenment, modernity posed a significant challenge to traditional Jewish culture, community and identity—creating new social and economic opportunities, but also threatening traditional Jewish values and society. As in each of the previous eras, modern Jews remained preoccupied with sacred texts, which suggests that however great the impact of rupture and discontinuity, their passion for reading and rereading classical Jewish texts was the creative wellspring for modern Jewish thought. In this course, students will explore the ways Jews coped with the massive changes in Jewish life caused by large-scale immigration, assimilation, persecution and nationalist revival. The course will also focus on how Jews created coherent narratives of their past and made sense of the turbulent and often chaotic times of the modern period.


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