Women's Studies Research Center

Upcoming Events

person sitting in chair holding up painting in front of their face

Photo Credit: Becky Behar, L'Dor V'Dor, (From Generation to Generation), Archival pigment print.

Opening Reception of "Tu Ke Bivas, "May you live, grow, and thrive like a little fish in freshwater," an immersive presentation by WSRC Scholar Becky Behar

September 4, 2025

5:00-7:00pm | Kniznick Gallery

The Women's Studies Research Center and the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute are pleased to present photographer and WSRC Scholar Becky Behar's Tu Ke Bivas in the Kniznick Galleryan immersive presentation in which Behar traces Sephardic traditions enacted by her mother and daughter. 

"Tu Ke Bivas is part of a Sephardic blessing my parents often invoked: ‘May you live, grow, and thrive like a little fish in freshwater.’ I am a Sephardic Jew, part of the diasporic population expelled from Spain during the Inquisition in the late 15th century. My family’s migrations have taken us from Turkey to Colombia to the United States. Throughout, we have maintained our Ladino language, Jewish religion, and Sephardic customs. 

My photographs explore how my mother and daughter continue to enact these traditions and rituals today. As I contemplate their different ways of preserving and celebrating our history, I consider my own relationship to this heritage and what interpretations my daughter will carry forward." - Becky Behar

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Join us for the opening reception of Becky Behar’s "Tu Ke Bivas". Explore Behar’s recent photographs, engage with the other components of her immersive presentation, mingle with colleagues and friends, and enjoy light refreshments. 
Tu Ke Bivas is presented by the Women's Studies Research Center and the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute.
 
The event will be held in-person at the:
Kniznick Gallery
Brandeis University Women's Studies Research Center, 
Epstein Building  (brick stairs and aluminum ramp with a purple awning on the right side of the building)
515 South Street  (right across from the train tracks)
Waltham, MA 02453  
Parking is readily available in the adjacent lot. 
Shulamit Reinharz photo and title of book
Hiding in Holland, An Afternoon of Remembrance with Shulamit Reinharz

September 10, 2025

4-5:30 p.m. EDT

Hybrid: In-Person at HBI/WSRC | Liberman-Miller Lecture Hall and Online

Join the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute and the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University to welcome back Shulamit Reinharz, founding director of both, for an event celebrating her latest book, Hiding in Holland: A Resistance Memoir, a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award.

Hiding in Holland is a memoir detailing her father, Max Rothschild’s experiences in the Holocaust as a Jewish man who saved his life repeatedly during the Holocaust, eventually being hidden by Dutch Righteous Gentiles for three years. Reinharz introduces historical contexts that challenge the exaggerated stereotypes of the valorous Dutch. Together, this inner and outer perspective helps explain why the Netherlands had the worst record of Jewish annihilation of all Western European countries. Only now are Dutch government leaders acknowledging the truth.

Reinharz will be in conversation with Lisa Fishbayn Joffe, the Shulamit Reinharz Director of HBI.

Cosponsored by the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute and the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University.

Register to join in person.

Register to join online.

original members of Bad Old Posse standing with banner
The Bad Old Days Posse

September 16, 2025

2:30 - 4 p.m. | International Lounge in Usdan 

Celebrate Gender Justice & Reproductive Health Week with ENACT

The Bad Old Days Posse is an engaging storytelling collective of activists who fought for abortion access before Roe v. Wade. With honesty and urgency, they’ll share personal stories from the front lines of the fight for reproductive freedom—reminding us what’s at stake and why the struggle continues.

This is more than a history lesson—it’s a call to action. Come listen, learn, and be inspired by these fierce trailblazers as they challenge us to build a more just and liberated future.

tiziana Dearing and Harleen SIngh at past WSRC Conversation event

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