Have questions about Hebrew courses, placement tests, or study abroad? Email Hebrew Language Coordinator, Mira Angrist (mangrist@bu.edu), to set up a Zoom meeting with a faculty member in the program.
The Hebrew Program at Boston University offers a rigorous and lively curriculum. Students achieve intermediate to advanced levels of fluency in the Hebrew language. They engage with Israeli music, literature and film; gain skills to study Jewish texts; and learn about other culture, food, and languages of the greater Middle East. All our courses incorporate cultural materials, media, and new technologies for language learning.
Beginning with Fundamentals of Modern Hebrew, a four-semester sequence (LH 111–LH 212) enables students to fulfill the language requirements. Advanced courses are content-based. These include Voices in Israeli Society (LH 311), Food Culture in Israel (LH 312), Israeli Popular Music (LH 330) and Israeli Culture through Media (LH 340). Masterpieces of Modern Hebrew Literature (LH 250) counts for three HUB requirements, and Israeli Culture through Film (LH 283, LH 453), is cross-listed in Cinema and Media Studies (CI 270).
Hebrew education at BU continues beyond the classroom. Students participate in community-based projects and co-curricular activities on campus, including those of the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies and the Pardee School; each year brings new opportunities to meet Israeli politicians and artists visiting the Boston area. The annual Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Lecture and the Boston Jewish Film Festival are two highlights of our co-curricular programs.
While there is no freestanding Hebrew major, students are encouraged to build a major around their Hebrew language studies through Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Literatures or the Pardee School’s MENA Studies. Hebrew courses also count towards degree programs in Jewish Studies. The Hebrew minor requires six courses, two of which may be taken in a related program. Students are encouraged to study at Boston University’s program at the University of Haifa, one of Israel’s most pluralistic universities.
A complete list of Hebrew language, literature and culture courses is available on the CAS Bulletin or on our all courses webpage.