Isabelle Levy

I highly recommend this course if you have even the slightest interest in Jewish studies. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2021 Course: JWSTGU4990_001_2021_3-TopicsinJewishStudies : JWSTGU4990_001_2021_3 - Topics in Jewish Studies Instructor: Isabelle Levy

Reading is a little heavy, especially if you're LD. However, it is engaging and interesting. Papers are reasonable, only two Papers and a midterm and a final.

Readings (primary, secondary, and theoretical sources) every class, probably between 30-60 pages. Very short midterm and final, 2 papers (you choose your topic for the second).

Oh my goodness. I've never had a professor who cared so much about us and who was so into what she is teaching. Prof Levy is such a gem. A hidden gem. I cannot recommend any class with her enough. She is engaging, and actually made it exciting to get up for an 8:40 class, which is something I've never experienced. I'm dyslexic, so I hate reading. However, this class actually made me WANT to read, which has, again, never happened. Take. This. Class.

This class was easily the highlight of my semester. She was a phenomenal professor who really cared about the material, and that showed in how she transmitted it to the students. Her lectures were engaging, and she really wanted to make sure that we could understand the material. She also responds to emails incredibly quickly, and is always willing to meet to discuss your papers.

Not bad, very interesting readings. 2 papers, a midterm and a final.

Professor Levy is a gem. I loved her class and her teaching style. She's very nice and approachable.

This course is very reading heavy, but the readings happen to be quite interesting and are often discussed in class. Aside from the readings, there is no other homework assignments. The class has 2 papers-- one that is 4-6 pages and one that is 6-8 pages. The 4-6 page paper is due pretty early in the semester, and the 6-8 page paper is due on the last day of class. Professor Levy gives detailed instructions as to what she expects in each paper and is always willing to have a conference about it if you need to discuss the specifics of your topic or want to get feedback on your essay. There is also a midterm and final. Both have short answer, an essay, and T/F or fill in the blank type questions. Both are meant to be completed in a 75 minute period (Prof. Levy told us that we only needed to come in at the regular class time for the final and that the two exams were about the same length). The exam is totally doable if you do the readings and prepare well.

Taking Professor Levy's class this semester was one of the best decisions I made for this semester! This course is not only fascinating, but Professor Levy's enthusiasm regarding the material makes each and every lecture an engaging adventure. I love that the course examines both Jewish texts as well as other texts from the time period in order to help us better understand the interplay between each of the religions from a literary standpoint. Aside from being really engaging, Professor Levy is an extremely kind person and a very approachable professor when it comes to discussing anything from the papers she assigns to something from class you either didn't understand or want to further discuss. This class does fulfill the Global Core requirement, but is worth taking whether you need those credits or not. As someone who didn't need to fulfill their Global Core requirement, I still found myself thoroughly enjoying what this class had to offer.