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RENEWING THE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK: THEORY AND PRACTICE FOR
BUILDING JEWISH INTERPRETIVE LEARNING COMMUNITIES
by
Gordon Bernat-Kunin
_________________________________________
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(RELIGION AND SOCIAL ETHICS)
August 2007
Copyright 2007 Gordon Bernat-Kunin
Object Description
| Title | Renewing the people of the book: theory and practice for building Jewish interpretive learning communities |
| Author | Bernat-Kunin, Gordon |
| Author email | gkunin@milkenschool.org |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Religion & Social Ethics |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2007-04-25 |
| Date submitted | 2007 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2007-07-30 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Crossley, John |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Miller, Donald Dembo-Member, Myron |
| Abstract | Moshe Halbertal argues in People of the Book: Canon, Meaning, and Authority (1997) that in the wake of emancipation and enlightenment, text-centeredness in Judaism has shifted from the status of what was once normative to what is now questionably formative. The primary purpose of this study is to develop theory and models of practice for revitalizing the Jewish interpretive tradition and renewing the People of the Book, based on a methodology which integrates classical Jewish texts, modern Jewish thought, philosophy of Jewish education, Western political philosophy, and sociology of religion.; The Jewish problem of interpretive learning community is initially formulated within a larger Western and American context, which includes the liberal-communitarian debate and theories of secularization. After providing an overview of Jewish formulations of the problem, we explore its early twentieth-century philosophical roots within the classic confrontation between Buber and Rosenzweig. Next, we turn to the leading contemporary philosopher of Jewish Education, Michael Rosenak, to develop a conceptual vocabulary for translating Jewish thinkers into approaches to interpretive learning community. Applying Rosenak's categories (translation, normative vs. deliberative, integration) as a lens to David Hartman's philosophy enables us to deepen and refine a conceptual vocabulary and framework for building interpretive learning community.; The second half of the study constructs three models for building interpretive learning community: (a) integration between Jewish and general sources, based on the case of theodicy; (b) transforming culture through interpretive learning community, based on the case of tochechah (art of criticism); (c) a Responsa model of interpretive learning community, based on the case of end of life issues. As an appendix, we present a fourth model, "reverse translation" which teaches Buber's I and Thou through Jewish sources which support or conflict with Buber's work.; In the closing chapter, we explore how our three models can be expanded or applied to other topics, indicate additional possibilities for building interpretive learning community, and, suggest a way of connecting the models. Finally, we conclude by speculating how the lessons of building Jewish interpretive learning community contribute to a broader understanding of vital issues in American political philosophy and sociology of religion. |
| Keyword | philosophy of Jewish education; integration |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m702 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Bernat-Kunin, Gordon |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | http://www.usc.edu/isd/libraries/services/ask_a_librarian/email/ |
| Filename | etd-BernatKunin-20070730 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume62/etd-BernatKunin-20070730.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Full text | RENEWING THE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK: THEORY AND PRACTICE FOR BUILDING JEWISH INTERPRETIVE LEARNING COMMUNITIES by Gordon Bernat-Kunin _________________________________________ A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (RELIGION AND SOCIAL ETHICS) August 2007 Copyright 2007 Gordon Bernat-Kunin |
