JEWISHST 246 · also RELIGION 246
Jewish Mysticism, Magic, and Ritual
Josiah S. Bisbee
Description from DukeHub
Exploration of Jewish mystical, magical, and ritual texts and artifacts from antiquity to the medieval period. Topics include divine beings, angels and demons, veneration of the dead, necromancy and divination, amulets and incantations, ritual power, visions and altered states, mystical ascent, theories of the soul, artificial life, and Kabbalah. Attention is given to methods in the academic study of religion; categories of 'mysticism,' 'magic,' 'monotheism,' and 'religion'; human-divine relationships; and ways claims about ritual and supernatural power construct communal identities and boundaries. Jewish sources are examined in broader historical and cultural contexts. No prerequisites.
Skills
No skill passed the confidence bar. Weak matches go to review instead of this page: an AI pass that has to quote the description, then a person.
AI-resilient: 0 of 5
- No: Physical, lab or field work
- No: Live work with people
- No: Judgment someone is accountable for
- No: A craft you practice with your hands or body
- No: Small, in-person format
The checks lean on Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025), which found generative AI applies least to physical work and hands-on work with people. A signal, not a promise. How the score works