Syllabus

ARTH 250

Jewish Architecture + Iconography

Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion, with various Jewish cultures and peoples living in disparate geographies all over the world. There are various divisions of the religion, many continuing into modern times, such as Sephardic Judaism and Ashkenazi Judaism. Each of these divisions – which contain various sects and subdivisions – has different cultural practices, and many different manifestations of their houses of worship: synagogues. The study of synagogal architecture is a very small field, but one that is full of diversity and variations of form and function. This course will focus on the synagogues from a different part of the world each week, exploring their plans and iconography. The semester will culminate in the creation of a learning resource with information about synagogues of different geographic and cultural origins, and how to insert these examples into the wider canonical art historical curriculum.

Learning Outcomes: By the end of the semester, student(s) will be able to:

    • Read and understand plans (full and partial) of synagogue architecture

    • Identify important architectural and iconographic elements of synagogue architecture, across different geographical regions and time periods

    • Assess how some aspects of synagogue architecture and Jewish iconography have changed over time – from ancient times to modern – and how others have remained consistent

    • Learn to view art and architectural history through a critical lens and connect canonical case studies with Jewish examples

    • Create a database with information about historical synagogues and how to best expand the canonical curriculum to include Jewish architecture

OVERVIEW OF SYNAGOGUE ARCHITECTURE + JEWISH ICONOGRAPHY

Write a 1-2 reading response paper on the development of Jewish architecture, paying attention to the changes in the religion after 70 CE. Explore patterns in iconography.

    • Lee I. Levine, “The Building” and “Iconography: The Limits of Interpretation,” in The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years (Yale University Press, 2005), 313–80 and 593-612.

    • Rachel Hachlili, “The Synagogue” and “Synagogue Architecture and Ornamentation,” in Ancient Synagogues – Archaeology and Art: New Discoveries and Current Research (London: Brill, 2013), 5-22 and 125-222.

    • Steven Fine, “From Meeting House to Sacred Realm: Holiness and the Ancient Synagogue,” in Sacred Realm: The Emergence of the Synagogue in the Ancient World, ed. Steven Fine (Oxford University Press, 1996), 21-47.

    • – – –, “Writing a History of Jewish Architecture,” in Smarthistory, August 8, 2015, accessed February 12, 2022, https://smarthistory.org/writing-a-history-of-jewish-architecture/.

DIASPORA SYNAGOGUES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

Write a 1-2 page reading response paper on the development of Jewish communities under the Roman Empire, paying attention to continuations and aberrations in architecture and iconography.

Dura-Europos Synagogue: Dura-Europos, Syria **

    • Pamela Berger, “The Temples/Tabernacles in the Dura-Europos Synagogue Paintings,” in Dura Europos: Crossroads of Antiquity, ed. Lisa R. Brody and Gail L. Hoffman (University of Chicago Press, 2011): 123-140.

    • Leonard Victor Rutgers, “Diaspora Synagogues: Synagogue Archaeology in the Greco-Roman World,” in Sacred Realm: The Emergence of the Synagogue in the Ancient World, ed. Steven Fine (Oxford University Press, 1996), 67-95.

Sardis Synagogue: Manisa Province, Turkey **

Ostia Synagogue: Ostia Antica, Rome

    • Arja Karivieri, “New Trends in Late Antique Religions, Beliefs and Ideas: Christianity, Judaism, Philosophy and Magic in Ostia,” in Life and Death in a Multicultural Harbour City: Ostia Antica from the Republic Through Late Antiquity, ed. Arja Karivieri (Rome: The Finnish Institute in Rome, 2020), 371-385.

SEPHARDIC SYNAGOGUES OF AFRICA + ASIA

Write a 1-2 page reading response paper focusing on the significance of these synagogues in their local communities, and in the wider Jewish diaspora at large.

El-Ghriba Synagogue: Djerba, Tunisia **

    • Nesrine Mansour and Anat Geva, “Djerbian Culture and Climate as Expressed in a Historic Landmark: The Case of El-Ghriba Synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia,” in Synagogues in the Islamic World: Architecture, Design, and Identity, ed. Mohammad Gharipour (Edinburgh University Press, 2017), 226-247.

    • JimenaMedia, “Inside El Ghriba Synagogue,” Youtube video, 3:22, July 21, 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pWUw8ZhkMs.

Synagogues in Kerala, India

    • Jay A. Waronker, “Synagogue Architecture in Kerala, India: Design Roots, Precedents, Tectonics, and Inspirations,” in Synagogues in the Islamic World: Architecture, Design, and Identity, ed. Mohammad Gharipour, 248-270.

    • – – –, “Paradesi Synagogue,” Friends of Kerala Synagogues, 2011, accessed February 12, 2022, http://cochinsyn.com/page-paradesi.html.

MULTICULTURAL SYNAGOGUES OF EUROPE

Write a 1-2 page reading response paper focusing on the significance of these synagogues in their local communities, and in the wider Jewish diaspora at large.

Córdoba Synagogue: Córdoba, Spain **

    • Daniel Muñoz-Garrido, “The Prevalence of Islamic Art amongst Jews of Christian Iberia: Two Fourteenth-century Castilian Synagogues in Andalusian Attire,” in Synagogues in the Islamic World: Architecture, Design, and Identity, ed. Mohammad Gharipour, 127-144.

    • Vivian B. Mann, “Decorating Synagogues in the Sephardi Diaspora: The Role of Tradition,” in Synagogues in the Islamic World: Architecture, Design, and Identity, ed. Mohammad Gharipour. Focus on pages 212-222.

The Great German Synagogue: Venice, Italy

    • Dr. David Landau, Dr. Marcella Ansaldi and Dr. Steven Zucker, “Three synagogues in the Venetian Ghetto,” in Smarthistory, May 27, 2020, accessed February 12, 2022, https://smarthistory.org/synagogues-venice/.

    • Marc Michael Epstein,“The Elephant and the Law: The Medieval Jewish Minority Adapts a Christian Motif,” The Art Bulletin 76, no. 3 (1994): 465–78.

Dohány Street Synagogue: Budapest, Hungary

TWENTIETH-CENTURY MODERNIST SYNAGOGUES OF NORTH AMERICA

Write a 1-2 page reading response paper discussing the designs of these modern synagogues by non-Jewish architects and their adherence or lack thereof to Jewish iconographical/architectural tradition.

Beth Sholom Synagogue (by Frank Lloyd Wright): Elkins Park, PA, U.S.A. **

    • Alice Friedman, “Mount Sinai in the Suburbs: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Temple Beth Sholom in Context,” in American Glamour and the Evolution of Modern Architecture (Yale University Press, 2010), 187-224.

Congregation Kneses Tifereth (by Philip Johnson): Port Chester, NY, U.S.A.

Email gg1@wellesley.edu with any questions.