Hebrew

University of California, Berkeley

About the Program

Minor

The minor in Hebrew introduces students to the language, peoples, cultures, and histories of the modern Hebrew-speaking world. The minor develops the student's command of reading, writing, speaking, and comprehension in the Hebrew language and may complement the student's intended major study. 

Students wishing to major in Hebrew should see the major requirements in the Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures major. 

Students minoring in Hebrew must satisfy the lower division prerequisite requirements. Students may also take a language proficiency exam to waive the elementary and intermediate language courses. Please meet with the undergraduate major advisor to discuss course options and study abroad plans. 

Declaring the Minor

Students may declare the Hebrew minor as soon as they begin their study at UC Berkeley. Please find the minor declaration form in the Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures department or email the undergraduate major advisor. Students must declare the minor no later than the semester before their Expected Graduation Term (EGT). Please see the L&S minor guidelines for more information. 

Other Majors and Minors offered by the Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures (MELC) Department

Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures (Major and Minor)
Arabic (Minor)
Hebrew (Minor)
Persian (Minor)
Turkish (Minor)

 

Visit Department Website

Minor Requirements

The Hebrew minor requires five upper-division courses in Hebrew literature and culture or history. 

General Guidelines

  1. All minors must be declared before the first day of classes in your Expected Graduation Term (EGT). For summer graduates, minors must be declared prior to the first day of Summer Session A. 

  2. All upper-division courses must be taken for a letter grade. 

  3. A minimum of three of the upper-division courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements must be completed at UC Berkeley.

  4. A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 is required in the upper-division courses to fulfill the minor requirements.

  5. Courses used to fulfill the minor requirements may be applied toward the Seven-Course Breadth requirement, for Letters & Science students.

  6. No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs.

  7. All minor requirements must be completed prior to the last day of finals during the semester in which the student plans to graduate. If students cannot finish all courses required for the minor by that time, they should see a College of Letters & Science adviser.

  8. All minor requirements must be completed within the unit ceiling. (For further information regarding the unit ceiling, please see the College Requirements tab.)

Requirements

Lower Division
HEBREW 1AElementary Hebrew5
HEBREW 1BElementary Hebrew5
HEBREW 20AIntermediate Hebrew5
HEBREW 20BIntermediate Hebrew5
Upper-Division Requirements (5 Courses)
Hebrew Language and Literature
HEBREW 100AAdvanced Hebrew3
Select two literature courses:
HEBREW 100BAdvanced Hebrew3
HEBREW 104AModern Hebrew Literature and Culture3
HEBREW 104BModern Hebrew Literature and Culture3
Hebrew Culture and History
Select two courses in Hebrew culture/history 13
MELC 104
Babylonian Religion [3]
MELC 105
Ancient Mesopotamian Literature [3]
MELC 108
Ancient Astronomy [4]
MELC 109
Mesopotamian History: Stories of Ancient People and Places [4]
MELC 111
Disease, Health and Pandemics in Ancient Egypt, the Ancient Middle East, and the Classical World [4]
MELC 113
Gilgamesh: King, Hero, and God [4]
MELC 114
Beyond Wikipedia: The Ancient Middle East [3]
MELC 117
The Origins of Racism in the West [4]
MELC 119
Explorers, Archaeologists, and Tourists in the Middle East [4]
MELC C120B
The Art of Ancient Mesopotamia: 1000-330 BCE [4]
MELC 125
Art and Archaeology of Middle Eastern Christianity [4]
MELC 130
History of Ancient Israel [4]
MELC 131
Aspects of Biblical Religion [4]
MELC 132
Biblical Poetry [4]
MELC 133
Judaism in Late Antiquity [4]
MELC 134
Topics in History and Cultures of Israel [4]
MELC 135
Literature and History in the Hebrew Bible [4]
MELC 136
History and Historiography in the Hebrew Bible [3]
MELC 137
Modern and Contemporary Jewish Thought [4]
MELC 138
The Hero in the Bible and the Ancient Middle East [3]
MELC 139
Modern Jewish Literatures [4]
MELC 148
Emergence of the Modern Middle East [4]
MELC 151
Middle Eastern Women Writers [4]
MELC 153
Synagogues, Cathedrals, and Mosques: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain [4]
MELC 155
The Thousand and One Nights in World Literary Imagination [3]
MELC 156
Sociolinguistics of the Middle East [4]
MELC 158AC
Middle East: Post-Colonialism, Migration, and Diaspora [4]
MELC 159
Middle East, Empire, and Orientalism [4]
MELC 190A
Special Topics in Fields of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures: Ancient Middle Eastern Studies [4]
MELC 190C
Special Topics in Fields of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures: Jewish Studies [4]
MELC 192C
Undergrad Seminar: Problems and Research in Middle Eastern Studies: Jewish Studies [2,4]
MELC 198
Directed Group Study for Upper Division Students [1-4]
MELC 199
Supervised Independent Study and Research [1-4]
Total Units35
1

The faculty major advisor must approve all courses outside of the department that will be used to satisfy the Hebrew minor requirements. 

Courses

Hebrew

Contact Information

Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures

250 Social Sciences Building

Phone: 510-642-3757

Fax: 510-643-8430

bmelc@berkeley.edu

Visit Department Website

Department Chair

Christine Philliou

philliou@berkeley.edu

Undergraduate Student Advisor

Rania Shah, MA

250 Social Sciences Building

Phone: 510-642-3758

rania.shah@berkeley.edu

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