Learning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish Education
Join us virtually for a series of conversations hosted by Mandel Center Director Jon A. Levisohn, in which leading scholars of Jewish education discuss what they have learned from their investigations of various aspects of Jewish education, and why it matters.
These events are free and open to the public. Registration is required.
Upcoming Events
Accentuating the American Jewish Hebrew Speaker
March 10, 1 - 1:30 p.m.
Via Zoom
This conversation will focus on Sharon Avni's recent work on how the everyday acts of speaking, learning, and engaging with Modern Hebrew inform our understanding of contemporary American Jewish life.
What Can We Learn From Jewish Education?
April 11, 1 - 1:30 p.m.
Via Zoom
The term "Jewish education" is used to refer to a broad array of practices, approaches, and institutions. Ari Kelman has written a new book, framing a broad shift from what Jewish education has meant, in modernity, to what it might mean for Jewish life in the 21st century.
Past Events
How the Study of Jewish History Informs the Arts
How does a Jewish theater company draw upon Jewish history to wrestle artistically with universal human questions? How do they weave new narratives through the work of interpretation? In recent work, Miriam Heller Stern has addressed these questions, and analyzed how the model of a creative company can be a powerful way of conceiving of adult Jewish learning.
How the Study of Jewish History Informs the Arts
A Conversation with Professor Miriam Heller Stern (29:38)
How Camp Ramah Met the Challenges of the 1990s
The Jewish overnight camping industry was on the verge of major changes in the late 1980s, when Shelly Dorph became the head of the Ramah National Commission. Jonathan Krasner discussed the case of Ramah and how it reflects on the challenges and opportunities that Jewish non-profit summer camps faced in the 1990s and early 2000s, and what it means for Jewish camps today.
How Camp Ramah Met the Challenges of the 1990s
A Conversation with Professor Jonathan Krasner (30:53)
Learning at a Jewish Museum
What happens when young adults visit a Jewish museum? What do they learn about Jews and Judaism, and how are they changed by what they see, touch, hear and feel? In this talk, Laura Yares discussed findings from a pre-pandemic study of 30 young adult visitors to the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, and describe the rich learning that can occur in episodic, leisure time Jewish educational settings.
Learning at a Jewish Museum
A Conversation with Professor Laura Yares (31:26)