Creating a Jewish Studies Curriculum

I really enjoyed working in groups on Monday to create a Jewish Studies curriculum for a secular university.  It was really interesting to develop a good program for Jewish Studies students.  I myself am a Jewish Studies major, and there are definitely things about the current curriculum that could use some improvement here at Indiana University.

One thing that was discussed that I strongly agreed with in my group was the need to have a core curriculum, and then to break things down into more specific concentrations, based on the needs of individual students.  I, for instance, am interested in becoming a Jewish professional, and I feel like in order to achieve that I need to take more classes aimed towards that, perhaps through SPEA or the Kelley school.  I feel like that having classes to suit different interests, such as Jewish professionalism or rabbinical and cantorial students would make more students at a given university be interested in learning more about the Jewish Studies program.

Maybe those who have changes should discuss and meet with the Jewish Studies department.  I, in fact, am planning on doing that when I meet next with Carolyn Lipson-Walker.  I feel it is very important to give input on the Jewish Studies program, because there is always room for improvement.