Jewish Studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the texts, history, languages, philosophy, literature, and culture of the Jewish people from the ancient to the modern.
Jewish Studies faculty are drawn from many different departments within the university. Our interests represent a broad cross-section of disciplines, time periods, and methodologies.
The Program in Jewish Studies offers a six-course minor that can be combined with any major field of study. All students are welcome to enroll in our courses, which are cross-listed with many different departments in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Students who minor and take courses in Jewish Studies reflect the diversity of the Rice student body and come from various academic, geographical, religious, and cultural backgrounds.
The HJHA is a collaborative effort between Rice University's Program in Jewish Studies and the Woodson Research Center (WRC) in the Fondren Library, where the archive is housed.
Twice a year, the program publishes a newsletter, Branches, to keep our friends and supporters up to date. Here you can learn more about what our faculty and students are doing.
Houston Jewish History Archive's Dr. Joshua Furman recently discussed preserving Jewish items after Hurricane Harvey and his favorite item in the collection on Tablet Magazine's Unorthodox podcast.