Lecture

Enrichment through the sponsorship of several programming initiatives is the goal of the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life. View our event calendar, and stay up-to-date on all of our programming. Learn about the many lecture series and cultural events we have to offer on a wide range of topics!  Our events are always free and open to the public. View full event listings.

Professor Stuart Miller teaching

Expand your knowledge in the literatures and cultures of the Jewish people by taking a few courses, or become an expert in the field by pursuing the Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, or Doctorate in Judaic Studies at UConn. Discover opportunities in study abroad, funding, and other available resources.  Learn about our faculty and alumni. Find out what Hebrew and Judaic Studies has to offer you! Visit our student section. 

study abroad

Students may spend a semester or academic year at Hebrew University in Jerusalem., Tel Aviv, Haifa, or Ben Gurion Universities. The  Center for Judaic Studies supports special programs such as archaelogical excavations and internships in Israel for which credit may be applied to the major and minor in Judaic Studies. Students participating in our study abroad programs may apply to the Center for funding to help offset tuition and other costs. Visit our study abroad section.

Upcoming Events

The Souls of Jewish Folk

26 March 2025 / 4:00 p.m.

Join us for a hybrid book talk with James Thomas, Associate Professor of Sociology at University of Mississippi, who will discuss his book The Souls of Jewish Folk: W.E.B. Du Bois, Anti-Semitism, and the Color Line. Co-Sponsored by the UConn Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life, UConn Stamford's Research on Resilient Cities, Racism, and Equity, Africana Studies Institute, Intersectional Indigeneity, Race, Ethnicity & Politics, Department of Philosophy, Department of Social and Critical Inquiry, and Department of Sociology. More info...

Literature of the Post-Soviet Jewish Diaspora

27 March 2025 / 5:30 pm

Ellen Litman, Associate Professor of English and Associate Director of the Creative Writing Program, will have a conversation with students about the literature of the post-Soviet Jewish diaspora. Co-sponsored by the Center for Judaic Studies and the English Department. More info...

Filthy, UnAmerican, and Dangerous in Their Habits: Antisemitism and the Emergency Quota Act, 1918-1921

2 April 2025 / 4:00 p.m.

Kirsten Fermaglich, Professor of History and Jewish Studies at Michigan State University will give this fascinating lecture through a hybrid program. This talk, which is co-sponsored by Center for Judaic Studies, Department of History, and Holocaust and Genocide Studies Program of Dodd Impact, will describe antisemitism in the State Department undergirding the 1921 Emergency Quota Act, suggesting that historians’ claims about American antisemitism have been overstated. More info...

    https://events.uconn.edu/live/json/v2/events/response_fields/location,summary/date_format/%25F%20%25j,%20%25Y/group/Judaic Studies/category_campus/Stamford/category_campus/Storrs/max/4/start_date/today/end_date/6 months/
  • Apr
    2
    Filthy, UnAmerican, and Dangerous in Their Habits
    The Dodd Center for Human Rights
    4:00 PM

    Kirsten Fermaglich, Professor of History and Jewish Studies at Michigan State University will give a lecture entitled “Filthy, UnAmerican and Dangerous in Their Habits: Antisemitism and the Emergency Quota Act, 1918-1921. This will be a hybrid program at the Konover Auditorium in Dodd Center for Human Rights and via Zoom.

  • Apr
    10
    A Conversation with Maya Arad
    6:00 PM

    This program is an Ishier & Maria Jacobson Colloquim.

    Maya Arad is the author of The Hebrew Teacher and twelve books of Hebrew fiction, as well as studies in literary criticism and linguistics from University College London and is the writer in residence at Stanford University’s Taube Center for Jewish Studies.

  • Apr
    29
    Black Jewish Scholars on Antiblack Racism and Antisemitism
    Konover Auditorium
    8:45 AM

    This two-day event involves a group of Black Jewish Scholars discussing their research addressing issues at the intersection of antiblack racism and antisemitism. 

  • Apr
    30
    Black Jewish Scholars on Antiblack Racism and Antisemitism
    Konover Auditorium
    8:45 AM

    This two-day event involves a group of Black Jewish Scholars discussing their research addressing issues at the intersection of antiblack racism and antisemitism. 

ALEPH Logo

ALEPH: A New Community-Wide Jewish Learning Initiative

Mandell JCC and UConn Judaic Studies renew "ALEPH: The Institute of Jewish Ideas," for a second year of community learning. Under the timely theme "On Jews, Judaism, and the Pursuit of Social Justice," members and organizations are invited to a dive into Jewish history and sources. [Learn more about ALEPH]