Seth Schwartz

I read some interesting texts that are quite canonic in the discipline of History. But overall I feel like I'm coming out of this course not having learned all that much.

The rabbinic texts examined in their historical context. Jewish History from post-destruction until the sealing of the Talmud.

Very intense. There is always a short primary source to read each week along with around 50-100 pages of secondary reading. Additionally, each week there is a 1000-word essay about the week's topic. Finally, there is a 25-page research paper.

It was rarely clear what we were actually meant to be learning from the readings in any given week, but sometimes the look at new perspectives was helpful.

Solid background on early Jewish history. Research skills. Composing a longer paper than I've done before.

This course is not for the feint of heart, but nevertheless it is a masterpiece that slowly unfolds. Seth Schwartz is one of the most brilliant, if not the most brilliant professor I have had at Columbia. His breadth of knowledge is astounding - in history, Classics, religion, and many other related fields. In this course, we studied the history of the Jewish people during the 3rd-7th century Roman Empire and surrounding areas. This class was a seminar and therefore involved lengthy discussions on the reading in several thematic topics, including the rise of the synagogue, the Jewish Himyarite Kingdom in Arabia, and the Augustinian doctrine. We payed very close attention to rather esoteric primary sources, which I would never had heard of had I not taken this course. Overall, this course was eyeopening and helped me get a sense of the changing relationship between the Jews and the early Christian state structure in Late Antiquity.

I learned what my classmates are like. I learned about a handful of historical methods, such as microhistory, critical fabulation, and social history.

Schwartz is tremendous. If you get the chance to study with him, do it.

I learned different methodological approaches to historical analysis, how to better think through historical questions and develop historical projects, and how to critically engage with methodological debates in the field.

You will get much more out of the course if you have a solid background on the subject matter before you go into it. You'll still learn a lot if you don't but it'll be more enjoyable if you already know a good amount. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2022 Course: HISTGU4607_001_2022_3-RABBISFORHISTORIANS : HISTGU4607_001_2022_3 - RABBIS FOR HISTORIANS Instructor: Seth Schwartz