Jewish Studies deals with the history, religion and culture of Jews and Judaism, with the focus in Basel being on modern times and modernity. Depending on their chosen specialization within Jewish Studies, Master's students acquire the methodological and theoretical tools to be able to independently and critically work on and communicate religious-historical, historical or literary issues. With regard to research-oriented studies, it is also important to engage with the perspectives and positions of other humanities subjects, in particular theology, in an interdisciplinary manner. This is because a contextually oriented concept of Jewish Studies includes the historical contact zones to the - usually majority - non-Jewish environments.

The subject area Jewish Studies in Basel has a clear cultural studies profile, in contrast to Jewish Studies elsewhere, which is more theologically, religiously dialogically or philologically oriented. The main part of teaching and research concentrates on modern and contemporary Judaism, although ancient and medieval times are also taken into account in introductory and overview courses, particularly with regard to the history of religion. Three thematic areas are distinguished:

• Languages: Teaching knowledge and tools for the languages Hebrew and Yiddish as well as their literary history.
   
• History: Study of Jewish lifeworlds, social positions and the political situation of Jews in connection with the cultural-scientific changes of modernity.
   
• Literature and religion: Examination of the continuity of Jewish references to transcendence and traditions, which can be seen in classical and modern Jewish texts and from which ethical considerations on contemporary issues can also be drawn.

It is crucial for the subject to develop a differentiated understanding of the concept of "Judaism" without losing sight of the claim of "Jewishness" as an entity that can be grasped from different perspectives. This requires a high level of methodological differentiation. It is an important task of Jewish Studies to convey this to students - and at least to some extent to a society concerned with Judaism in the media and society at large. Judaism should be made visible and analyzed as a form of attribution both in its traditional references and in the dynamic development processes that it undergoes in a wide variety of fields.

The Master's degree subject builds on the academic and social skills acquired in the Bachelor's degree subject and consists of the three modules "Languages", "History, Literature, Religion" and "Research-oriented Studies". It aims to provide students with a broad and specialized knowledge of the history and cultural history of Jews and Judaism and a methodologically and historically informed analysis of the classification of self-images and images of others and the understanding of tradition in Judaism. Students should also be able to open up to areas that require a command of contemporary Jewish languages (especially Modern Hebrew and Yiddish). Excursions lasting several days, for example to Prague, Vienna, Amsterdam or Krakow, are usually offered every academic year and are open to all Jewish Studies students.