College of Letters and Science Faculty Document No. 572 November 2, 2000 The UWM Certificate Program in Jewish Studies Annual Report, 1999-2000 The Advisory Board of the Certificate Program in Jewish Studies consists of the following members: Dr. Ruth Schwertfeger, Associate Professor FLL/German Studies Holocaust Research Project Dr. Joan Wolf, Assistant Professor FLL/Hebrew Studies; Political Science Dr. Jane Waldbaum, Professor Art History Dr. Yair Mazor, Professor and Program Coordinator Director of UWM Center for Jewish Studies Coordinator of Hebrew Studies Program The Advisory Board of the UWM Certificate Program in Jewish Studies meets twice a year, one meeting during the Fall semester and a second meeting during the Spring semester. Those meetings are part of more comprehensive meetings of the UWM Center for Jewish Studies, as the Certificate Program is formally affiliated with the UWM Center for Jewish Studies. Currently, over 40 students are fully enrolled in the UWM Certificate Program in Jewish Studies. During the current academic year, however, two students successfully completed the Certificate program's academic requirements and correspondingly have earned a Certificate in Jewish Studies. The Certificate Program continues cultivating and developing new courses which enhance the academic, scholarly, pedagogical service it bestows upon UWM students, simultaneously enriching UWM's volume and choice of course. For instance, recently the following courses have been developed and became available for Certificate Program students, as well as UWM students in general: History of Jewish Christian relations (440-299 by Dr. Tim Crain) Moses and Jesus (440-299 by Dr. Tim Crain) Women and Jewish Law (440-254 by Attorney George Strick) The Quest for the Historical Jesus in Art, Literature and Film (440-299 by Father Michael Fountain) Contemporary Israeli Culture (440-299 by Dr. Yair Mazor) Jews, Christians, and Muslims: Three Religions and One God (440-299 by Dr. Tim Crain) Who is God? (Freshman Scholar course by Dr. Rachel Baum) Politics of American Jewish Identity (440-255 by Dr. Joan Wolf) The courses mentioned above make a wonderful and rewarding contribution to the Certificate Program in Jewish Studies, one which materializes on a variety of worthy levels: scholarship, education, pedagogy, history, religion, sociology, women studies, and more. Those courses, as well, deliberately and effectively broaden the horizons of Jewish/Hebrew/Israeli courses offered by the Certificate Program: they go far beyond the "formal" boundaries of Jewish Studies, placing Jewish Studies in a panoramic, elucidating and intriguing context of Christian and Muslim religions, cultures, and other fields of study.