Seven students have already registered for the new course of studies. They should learn not only Hebrew, but also about modern Jewish life.
By Anne Kostrzewa, Bamberg
As one of the oldest Jewish communities in Germany, Bamberg looks back on a thousand-year, quite varied Jewish-German history. Already in writings from the year 1007 Jewish immigrants, probably commercial travelers, are mentioned in the city. Stolpersteine reminds many houses how big the Jewish community was until the Second World War. With the beginning of the winter semester, the Jewish life in Bamberg has now found a new, scientific home. Since this semester, the Otto-Friedrich-University has been offering the "Bachelor Studies" (BA) "Jewish Studies".
In Bavaria it is the first independent study course for Jewish studies. In Germany, only five other universities have a comparable main subject in the program. In Bamberg, seven students have already registered for the new BA. They are to learn not only the history of the oldest monotheistic world religion, as well as Bible and modern Hebrew in six semesters.
Rather, five professors of different disciplines want to work with them to develop a comprehensive picture of Jewish identity, in literature, art and culture, around the world and to the present. Pascal Fischer, professor of Anglistic and American Cultural Studies, wants to enter the Jewish life of the USA with the students. Christoph Houswitschka from the Department of English Literature is interested in the Judeo-British literature on contemporary literature, in which the Jewish culture of the authors is only beginning to appear.
The Old Testament sciences, German studies, and, last but not least, Judaism themselves, also represent professors for the new course of study. A special and particularly practical project is the Jewish-Franconian homeland. For this, Susanne Talabardon, professor of Judaism and the director of the study program, is in close contact with the Jewish Lehrhaus Bamberg.
With its low number of students, the Jewish studies are supplemented by the colorful collection of the so-called small subjects with which the University of Bamberg has been consciously opposed to the German-wide trend for the "orchids" of the lecture list rather than for a few Students. "Undead", Godehard Ruppert calls this development. "Humanities and cultural sciences are particularly successful if they are not viewed in isolation, but in the context of other subjects." Rupperts' stated goal is therefore to maintain broad, even small, studies in Bamberg, which work closely together in an interdisciplinary manner.
Extend the students' eyes
"Judaism will never be so great that you could fill this space with your students as now," said the president at the opening ceremony of the new subject in front of around seventy invited guests. That is why the University of Bamberg does not go at all. "We want to make an offer for our students that will drive them forward."
Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, welcomed the new course of studies. "It is time to take Judaism not only as a historical theme." At school, Jews were represented either as victims or, as in the Middle East conflict, as perpetrators. This is too much a simplification. "We need young people who look beyond the boundaries of their own world of life today more than ever," said Schuster.
From the new Bamberger BA he expected "interreligious and intercultural ambassadors". Almost ten years after the introduction of the secondary subject of Judaism, which concentrated heavily on the old writings, the students' view should now be extended "to the contribution which the Jews have made to other areas of life and still do" Shoemaker. Franks, wherever many Jews lived, were very well suited as a location.
