Hebrew is one of the major languages belonging to the family of Semitic languages which also includes Aramaic, Syriac, Ethiopic, Ugaritic, Edomite, Arabic and Phoenician. It is one of the oldest languages in the world, having been spoken from about 1200 BCE to the present day in Israel. It has had an enormous impact on Western culture most particularly through what is commonly called the Old Testament but otherwise known as the Tanach or Hebrew Scriptures. 

Jewish Studies offers an opportunity to study the development of Jewish civilization from its origins to the present. Subjects are designed to explore the Jewish experience from a range of disciplines - history, literature, archaeology, philosophy, ethnography and social theory, together with study options in classical and modern Hebrew language.