Jewish Studies
Annual Holocaust Lecture: Ghettostadt
October 29, 2009
Emerson A, 7:30 p.m.
Jewish Studies' annual Holocaust lecture will feature Dr. Gordon Horwitz, Associate Professor of History at Illinois Wesleyan University, speaking on "Ghettostadt: Łódź and the Making of a Nazi City."
Marjorie Agosin - Jewish identity in Chile
November 5, 2009
Handwerker Gallery, 12:10-1:00 pm
Marjorie Agosin, Professor of Spanish at Wellesley College, will read from A Cross and a Star and Anne Frank Poems. She tells of the Jewish Diaspora experience in Latin America, which saved Agosín’s family from the perils of Nazi occupied Europe while placing them in a space of marginality in a Spanish speaking and largely Catholic society.
Yossi Klein Halevi
Israel and the Middle East
Tuesday, November 10
8 p.m., Textor Hall 102
Yossi Klein Halevi, journalist and author, will speak on Israel, the Palestinians, and life in the Middle East. Author of Memoirs of a Jewish Extremist (1995) and At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden: A Jew’s Search for God with Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land (2001), he is currently a senior fellow at the Shalem Center, a center-right think tank in Jerusalem.
Golberstein Travel-Study Grant
The Jewish studies program invites students to apply for the Golberstein Travel-Study Grant for the 2009-10 academic year. Photo: Adina Mindick '08.
Coordinator of the Jewish Studies Program
Rebecca Lesses
Assistant Professor
(607) 274-3556
The Jewish Studies Minor
Jewish studies is an inherently multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary field. At Ithaca College, a minor in Jewish studies focuses on Jewish communities worldwide, not just those in the United States and Israel. We strive to teach students about Jewish cultural diversity, approaching the history and culture of the Jewish people from a variety of perspectives, with attention to different theoretical frameworks and with reference to other cultural groups and sociopolitical systems among which Jews have lived.
The study of Jewish cultures includes analysis of religious beliefs and practices, philosophy, literature, folklore, visual arts, music, and the media. A comparative approach, which emphasizes the interaction and comparison of Jews with other peoples who have lived as minorities in diverse cultural contexts, can shed light on larger issues of ethnicity, race, gender, social inequality, and multiple constructions of cultural identity.
In addition to those interested in the Jewish community, a minor in Jewish studies is useful for students majoring in philosophy and religion, anthropology, sociology, or culture and communications; it can give students a broader base of knowledge for comparisons among cultures, a better understanding of one of the world's major religions, and a solid basis in the fields of history, literature, politics, and religion.
Beyond the Classroom
The Jewish studies program offers interesting and engaging public events, from lectures and art exhibitions to film screenings and concerts. These events complement the program’s cultural and intellectual focus.
Student grants specific to the Jewish studies program are available each semester providing students with the opportunity to travel and conduct their own research related to the subject matter. Students can also intern at institutions such as local synagogue schools and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
After graduation, some of our graduates will go on to earn advanced degrees while others begin their professional careers. Our graduates have worked in the banking industry in New York City, at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., and in the Office of Jewish Student Life at the University of North Carolina.
Faculty and Steering Committee
Led by a faculty coordinator and steering committee, the Jewish studies program at Ithaca College boasts a team of faculty from several different departments, including politics, anthropology, English, art history, music, religious studies, history, and modern languages.