Untying the Knots: Theorizing Conflicts Between Gender Equality and Religious Laws, April 2008
Developed by the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute Project on Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law, this international conference that brought together theorists, policymakers and activists to discuss ways of conceptualizing and engaging with gender and culture/religion conflicts. Speakers discussed struggles in Canada, Israel, Senegal, South Africa, and the U.S.A. Featured Keynote speaker was Martha Minnow, Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law, Harvard Law School.
This conference was generously funded by gifts from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Hadassah Endowment and the Dan Fischel and Sylvia Neil Philanthropic Fund.
This conference was also co-sponsored by the following:
Fanya Gottesfeld Heller Center for the Study of Women in Judaism at Bar Ilan University, The International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life and the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies.
Seminar on Creating and Maintaining Jewish Families, March 2007
Recent studies indicate that men and women think, act, and react very differently to life situations that touch on connections to Jews and Judaism. However, very little research has focused directly on these differences - or their implications to Jewish communities. This seminar was a first step in launching a systematic study of the intersection of religion and gender. Presentations were made by cutting-edge researchers that looked at the behavior and attitudes of Jewish singles as well as inmarried, intermarried, and conversionary households and families in the United States, Israel, and other Jewish communities. Researchers and policy planners engaged in conversations, employing the interdisciplinary lenses of the social sciences: psychology, anthropology, statistical reserach, and qualitative interviews. This event was co-sponsored by The Steinhardt Social Research Institute and The Hadassah-Brandeis Institute.
Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance
(JOFA) Conference, March 2005
In an age in which women have many choices, why do otherwise
modern Jewish, Christian and Muslim women choose to order
their lives according to ancient religious traditions? How
do religiously observant women incorporate feminist change
into their lives and communities?
While some Orthodox feminists celebrate promising new developments,
others voice concern that traditional gender roles may be
inextricably linked to the survival of Jewish public religious
life. Are traditional Jewish lifestyles fragile and vulnerable,
or are they resilient, responding to change with greater vitality?
Women who define themselves as Orthodox range from “envelope
pushers” to highly traditional loyalists. What social
and psychological factors attract women to Orthodoxy and determine
their movement in and out of religious communities?
Double or Nothing, Spring 2004
The extraordinary acceptance of Jews and Judaism in contemporary
American society both reflects and sets the stage for the
growing rate of mixed marriage. As interfaith households multiply-and
increasingly are seen as the norm in wider society-what are
the implications for the American Jewish community? On a more
intimate level, how to couples negotiate the ethnic and religious
identity of their families? Does gender play a role in determining
familial outcomes?
Bringing together a distinguished group of scholars, the conference
will used Sylvia Barack Fishman’s long-awaited new book
Double or Nothing? Jewish Families and Mixed Marriage as a
reference point for discussing cutting-edge research and new
findings from the fields of sociology, history and cultural
study.
The Contemporary Jewish Book Trade: A symposium for
writers, graduate students, editors, distributors, professors,
Jewish professionals and the general public, May 5, 2003
What is the state of publishing in the multidisciplinary field
of Israel studies? A follow-up to the successful first Jewish
Book Trade Conference held at the Brandeis University Women’s
Studies Research Center in Spring 2003, this daylong event
will assess current prospects for publishing about Israel
in the English language. Panelists from academic centers and
publishing houses will explore topics including market evaluation,
book selection, barriers to publishing, promotional strategies,
future prospects, and how publishing can assist a developing
scholarly field in the US. The conference was organized by
Professor Shulamit Reinharz, Resident Scholar Rosie Rosenzweig,
and Professor Jonathan Sarna.
Jewish Women in Turkey: Living in Multiple Worlds, Dec. 9,
2002
In this conference we aim to learn from their individual and
collective efforts to negotiate these contradictions, both
past and present. Speakers will place the experience of Jewish
women in Turkey in historical perspective and address contemporary
questions about the future of Jewish life in Turkey.
Jewish Women from Muslim Societies Respond to September
11 and its Aftermath, Dec. 10, 2001
The idea for a symposium about Jewish women’s personal
histories in Muslim societies emerged in the wake of these
plans. Ultimately, we staged this symposium in two venues:
Brandeis University in December 2001 and the Hadassah National
Convention in July 2002. The goal was simple: to deepen our
understanding of current events by learning from the experiences
of Jewish women who possess firsthand knowledge of life in
the Muslim Middle East. From these unique accounts, we would
become not only more knowledgeable about life in these Jewish
communities, we would also learn more about their host Muslim
societies and their capacity for tolerance and intolerance
at different times and in different places. With this knowledge,
we hoped to contribute more meaningfully to the public discussion
about the implications of September 11.
Gender, Place and Memory in the Modern Jewish Experience,
Jan. 2-4, 2001
Organized by Professor Tova Cohen and Dr. Judith Tydor Baumel
of Bar-Ilan University, the conference was remarkable for
the breadth of its program and the wide range of academic
disciplines of its participants. Professor Amia Lieblich of
the Hebrew University delivered the opening address Reflections
of an Israeli Female Psychologist and spoke about the relation
between identity and memory. Her reflections were drawn from
her research on life-stories of men and women members of a
kibbutz.
In the opening plenary session, Professor Sylvia Barack Fishman
(HIRIJW co-director) explored the construction of memory in
fiction by American Jewish female writers in the second half
of the twentieth century. Professor Deborah Hertz of Sarah
Lawrence College spoke about the public roles of wealthy Jewish
women in nineteenth-century Germany, and Professor Gershon
Bacon of Bar-Ilan University examined the search for identity
of Jewish women in interwar Poland. HIRIJW’s founder
Shulamit Reinharz and Senior Research Director Susan Kahn
both presented papers as well. Professor Reinharz spoke on
“Women’s Name and Places(s): Exploring the Map
of Israel” and examined the different towns of Israel
that are named for women. She emphasized that the memorialization
process related to place is gendered, leading to a consequence
of making women’s contribution to Israeli society invisible.
Susan Kahn’s presentation, “Remembering Reproduction,”
focused on the womb as a gendered site of Jewish memory and
as the pivotal place that defines a Jew. The conference succeeded
in generating substantive discussion about the processes of
history making and explored the difference between formal
narratives and personal memories. Having the conference take
place successfully in Israel despite the violence occurring
in the area gave the organizers a special satisfaction. Very
few participants cancelled their plans to come.
Studying Jewish Women’s Leadership in the United
Kingdom: The Fourth International Scholarly Exchange, Dec.
10-11, 2000
To explore the unprecedented rise in Jewish women’s
leadership and its impact on the Jewish communities of the
United Kingdom.
- Interactive roundtable format to facilitate the exchange
of information and ideas
- Invited Speakers give presentations addressing the
conference mission
- Invited Respondents comment firefly
- Conference Attendees are invited to sit at the roundtable
and join in the discussion
Educating Ourselves, Educating Our Communities, Studying
Jewish Women: The Third International Scholarly Exchange,
Dec. 12-14, 1999
This conference brings Jewish women from around the world
to the Hadassah Research Institute on Jewish Women to address
and analyze the role of women in adult Jewish education. Never
before have we played such active roles in the creation and
sustenance of Jewish education programs. We are students and
teachers, administrators, philanthropists and visionaries.
We believe Jewish women in every community should have sufficient
educational resources and opportunities to fully participate
in Jewish life.
Gender Issues and Adult Jewish Education, March 12-14, 2000
What are the historical roots of this phenomenon, and how
does the current scene differ from the past? How does Jewish
education relate to the new roles women are playing as rabbis,
educators, and in Jewish organizational life? What personal
journeys through Jewish education are undertaken by individuals?
How has women’s increased participation in adult Jewish
education changed the culture for both men and women? This
conference is the third in a three-part series at the HIRIJW
dealing with adult Jewish education: Finding a Home explored
the challenges that continue to face Jewish Women’s
Studies in the academy (JTS, October 1999); The Third International
Scholarly Exchange looked at the diverse situations of Jewish
women pursuing education around the world (Brandeis, December
1999). This Conference provides both an overview and a detailed
examination of Jewish educational opportunities for adults
in the United States and Canada. One of the most interesting
phenomena among contemporary American Jewish a d u l t s is
the increased interest in Jewish learning.
Studying Jewish Women: The Second International Scholarly
Exchange, Dec. 16-18, 1998
Headlined by a keynote address from Dr. Alice Shalvi, Director
of the Schechter Institute of Judaic Studies in Jerusalem,
this Second Scholarly Exchange further explored the issues
raised the year prior, examining Jewish gender relations worldwide.
With the creation of an international network of Jewish women
scholars, attendees of the conference further explored ways
to create strong and lasting connections among Jewish women
worldwide. Plans to create a film and media archive consisting
of materials related to Jewish women unified the conference
attendees and generated a renewed sense of action to firmly
establish the field of Jewish women’s studies in the
academic realm.
Women in the Yishuv and Early State: We Were There
Too Part 1 and 2, June 2-4, 1998; March 17-19, 1999
On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the State of
Israel, we honor the role of American Jewish Women in the
pre-State period and early years of the State. In this period,
women faced the dual challenges of state building and overcoming
sex stereotypes. Their efforts, creativity, sacrifices and
contributions have been all but forgotten in today’s
historiography and collective memory. This conference offers
a forum for critically analyzing their extraordinary achievements.
The Future of the American Jewish Family Conference, April
26-27, 1998
Today’s American Jewish families inhabit a landscape
differing significantly from prior eras in Jewish history.
American Jews in the 1990s are largely third and fourth generation,
with only 11 percent of American Jews born outside the United
States. They are well educated; extraordinarily high rates
of Jewish youth leave home to attend college. They are very
mobile; members of extended family units seldom live in the
same geographical area. Patterns of family formation have
changed dramatically. One-third of American Jews have never
married or are divorced or widowed. Fertility rates are below
replacement level, except among the most traditional families.
Ideas of Jewish identity have undergone radical shifts, due
to decreased home-based ritual observance, and more dependence
on Jewish institutions as the locale of Jewish behaviors.
Rates of affiliation are themselves depressed. Most strikingly,
American Jewish families are associated with a liberal political
and social “package” of beliefs, which sometimes
seem to diverge from traditional Jewish lifestyles and values.
This conference takes a fresh look at the impact of these
dramatic changes. It explores the ramifications of transformations
in the American Jewish family and discusses strategies, which
strengthen – or weaken – Jewish family life.
Studying Jewish Women: The First International Scholarly
Exchange, Dec. 17-19, 1997
What is the status of Jewish women around the world, and as
importantly, how can we examine it? By creating an international
network and directory of Jewish women scholars, we set an
agenda for future research and initiate collaborative scholarly
projects to further explore the standing of Jewish women worldwide.
As Jewish women explore their past and present activity, so
can they create goals for the future. |
