The start of the fall 2012 semester at MTSU includes the first offerings in a new minor in Jewish and Holocaust Studies, an undergraduate study of the cultures of the Jewish people and the genocide known as the Holocaust.

“Developing this exciting new two-track interdisciplinary minor has been a cooperative labor of love across disciplines and fields of study,” said Dr. Elyce Rae Helford, a professor of English at MTSU and the director of the minor.

Four new courses are unique to the program. “Jewish Culture and Civilization,” “The Holocaust” and “Current Trends in Jewish and Holocaust Studies” are general requirements for the minor. “Independent Research in Jewish and Holocaust Studies” also is available.

Courses from English, geography, history and other disciplines may be taken as electives.

They include “The Bible as Literature,” “Women of the Middle East,” “Israeli Film” and “Nazis and Victims,” among others.

A total of 18 credit hours is required for the minor in either the Jewish Studies or Holocaust Studies track.

The minor program offers students a chance to study multiculturalism and the meanings of diversity, religious tolerance and intolerance and genocide studies.

For more information, visit www.mtsu.edu/JHStudies, or contact Helford at 615-898-5961 or elyce.helford@mtsu.edu.

— Gina K. Logue (Gina.Logue@mtsu.edu)