‘Beloved’ and ‘inspiring:’ Joyce Antler to receive Sachar Medallion

Brandeis Professor Joyce Antler '63, a prolific author known for her uniquely compelling and imaginative scholarly and cultural pursuits, will be honored in June with The Brandeis University National Women’s Committee’s Abram L. Sachar Medallion.

Antler, the Samuel B. Lane Professor of American Jewish History and Culture, is being recognized with the group’s highest honor for exceptional contributions as a creative historian and educator.

She is the author and editor of nine books in Jewish and women’s history, including her latest, “You Never Call! You Never Write! A History of the Jewish Mother.”

Antler’s prize-winning documentary drama, “Year One of the Empire: A Play of American Politics, War and Protest,” has won acclaim among critics and will be performed off-Broadway this year.

Antler’s students examine the past through archival materials, which they use to create plays.
 
“Joyce,” said BUNWC National President Dottie Pierce, “is a beloved teacher who has always guided and inspired her students while at the same time challenging them to question, probe, and consider possibilities far beyond the obvious.”

Antler is the founder of the Brandeis Women’s Studies program and Graduate Consortium of Women’s Studies at Radcliffe College. She has also served as chairman of the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities.

“As a most cherished friend to the National Women’s Committee,” said Pierce to Antler, “you have visited our chapters throughout the country, written materials for our study group programs, and highlighted the Women’s Committee in your research about the Jewish mother. You have influenced generations of women.”

The medallion will be presented at the group’s 60th anniversary celebratory gathering on June 3, 2008.