Mandel Center News & Events -I- April 2022
NEWS

The Brandeis Seminar on Contemporary Jewish Life (CJL) gathers together dozens of scholars and professionals at Brandeis with a particular interest in the culture, education, politics, art, literature, history and sociology of contemporary Jews and Judaism. Founded and chaired by MCSJE director Jon Levisohn, CJL is a partnership of several campus units with an interest in contemporary Jewish life.
 
For the last eight years, monthly CJL sessions have provided opportunities for members of the Brandeis CJL community to share their work in an environment of constructive critique.
 
Learn more about CJL and its importance to the Brandeis community in this video.
MCSJE RESEARCH
MCSJE is committed to sharing its research findings broadly with other scholars and practitioners in an effort to strengthen the field of Jewish education scholarship. To that end, MCSJE is sharing information about one of its current projects, Perceptions of Race and Identity in Jewish High Schools, as well as information about past research, “Rethinking the Education of Cultural Minorities to and from Assimilation: A Perspective from Jewish Education."
Perceptions of Race and Identity in Jewish High Schools

The project on Perceptions of Race and Identity in Jewish High Schools explores where and how high school seniors in North American Jewish day schools learn about race and diversity in school. It focuses on students' perceptions of their high school experiences, both in and outside of the classroom, asking students to identify opportunities to talk and learn about race and identity in America. This study is headed by Dr. Ziva Hassenfeld, MCSJE’s Assistant Director of Research and the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Assistant Professor in Jewish Education, in collaboration with Dr. Shira Fishman, of William James College. Findings will be shared in the fall. Learn more about this research project.

When Jewish leaders talk about assimilation and Jewish education, they typically make two assumptions. First: They assume that assimilation is bad. And second: They assume that Jewish education can prevent it. However, both of these assumptions are problematic. In this article, Levisohn draws on scholarship in Jewish history, sociology and philosophy in order to develop a more compelling way to think about what assimilation is and what Jewish education ought to do about it.
 
If you have trouble getting access to this article, please be in touch. We’ll be happy to send you a pdf.
MCSJE IN THE NEWS
MSCJE Affiliate Ilana Horwitz, who is an assistant professor at Tulane University as well as the Director of the MSCJE Doctoral Fellows program, recently published God, Grades and Graduation: Religion’s Surprising Impact on Academic Success (Oxford, 2022). The book has gotten a great deal of attention in various media outlets. In March, she wrote an Op-Ed in the New York Times drawing on her research, entitled: "I Followed the Lives of 3,290 Teenagers. This Is What I Learned About Religion and Education." 
UPCOMING EVENTS
MCSJE events are free and open to the public. Pre-registration is required.
A Conversation with Professor Ari Kelman:
What Can We Learn From Jewish Education?

Date: Monday, April 11, 2022
Time: 1 - 1:30 p.m. ET 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.
A Conversation with Professor Mijal Bitton:
How Jewish Communities Educate

Date: Wednesday, May 4, 2022
Time: 1 - 1:30 p.m. ET via Zoom
Most analyses of Jewish education, like most analyses of general education in Western, liberal society, emphasize the individual student. But some communities approach education very differently. Mijal Bitton will discuss her research into how the Syrian Jewish community educates its members, formally and informally, to maintain bonds of commitment.
PAST EVENTS
Learning About Learning
A Conversation with Professor Sharon Avni:
Accentuating the American Jewish Hebrew Speaker

This conversation focused 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.

Mandel-Brandeis Book Series Discussion Series: Inside Jewish Day Schools with Alex Pomson and Jack Wertheimer

Inside Jewish Day Schools: Leadership, Learning and Community, was recently published in the Mandel-Brandeis Series in Jewish Education at Brandeis University Press. In this session, moderated by MCSJE senior scholar Sharon Feiman-Nemser, authors Alex Pomson and Jack Wertheimer shared some of the highlights from their research. They were joined by Susie Tanchel (Hebrew College), Amanda Pogany (Luria Academy) and Daniel Held (UJA Federation of Greater Toronto), who shared perspectives on how the book impacts their work in the field.

Stay Connected with the Mandel Center
 
Did you know the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education is now on Facebook and LinkedIn? Stay connected with us and hear about our upcoming events and innovative research by connecting with our pages.

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