Jewish Studies Curriculum Initiative

Bring the breadth of Jewish history and civilization into your classroom with ready-to-use teaching modules curated by experts.

Organized as modules and centered around core teaching themes, each unit includes primary sources, expert interpretation, and supplementary resources for both students and instructors. Posen Library curricula offer flexibility and are designed to be easily integrated into coursework in a variety of ways—perfect for launching a new class or refreshing a syllabus to include new perspectives and voices.

Front and back of CD case with CD. The front has a picture of a woman in Yemenite dress, with the words "Ofra Haza" on the top left, and "Fifty Gates of Wisdom" and "Yemenite Songs" on the bottom.

Jews of the Middle East and North Africa: Empire, Colonialism, and Identity

Islamic empires, colonial rule, and modern Israel have shaped MENA, Sephardic, and Mizrahi Jewish identities across regions and centuries.

Geoffrey Levin

Photograph of figure holding sword behind her neck.

Sephardic Journeys: Literature, Memory, and Jewish Culture

Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) shaped modern global Jewish culture, identity, and imagination in numerous ways.

Karen Skinazi

Page of printed Hebrew text with word set in decorated border on top.

The Origins of Rabbinic Judaism

The rabbis of late antiquity shaped Judaism through debates in the Mishnah, Talmud, and midrash, balancing continuity, change, and authority.

Erez DeGolan

Photograph of men, women, and children seated on the steps of a large public monument with nude classical figures and a winged horse atop a circular base.

Who Is American? Citizenship, Law, and Jewish History in the United States

Jewish encounters with American citizenship, from the colonial era to today, reveal how the United States has continually redefined who belongs and why.

Lila Corwin Berman

Cartoon drawing of man with three heads and many hands reaching in different directions, the hands in center typing on a large typewriter, a hand to the left holding a conducting baton, another hand holding a phone, and a hand to the right holding a pen.

Jewish Culture Worldwide: Food, Music, Language, Names, and Identity

Explore Jewish culture worldwide through food, music, language, and names, balancing integration and distinctiveness, tradition and creativity.

Sarah Bunin Benor

Medal depicting two figures on either side of a set of tablets and small portrait of man in center.

Jewish Emancipation, Citizenship, and Belonging

Trace the evolution of Jewish citizenship from 18th-century France through Europe, the Ottoman Empire, and the Middle East, where debates over rights endure.

Geraldine Gudefin

Manuscript page with Hebrew text and drawing of spheres and interconnected lines.

Jewish Mysticism & Shabbat: Sacred Time and God’s Oneness

Examine Jewish mysticism through Shabbat as sacred time, exploring theology of God’s oneness, ritual practice, and mystical states of experience in Kabbalistic

Eitan Fishbane

Watch-like device with concentric circles, inner geometric shapes and hands.

Sephardic Jewish History and Culture in Spain and Beyond

Explore the history of the Jews in late medieval Spain and the rebirth of Sephardic culture in 17th century Netherlands and the Americas.

Ronnie Perelis