About Us
The Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life at the University of Connecticut has been a home for the academic study of Jewish history, culture, and civilization since 1979. We bring together students, scholars, and the broader community through coursework, research, lectures, and cultural events. Our doors are open to everyone, and our work extends from the UConn campus to partner institutions in Hartford.
Our Mission
Our mission is to foster research and scholarship in Judaic studies, enrich undergraduate and graduate education in Judaic studies as part of a general liberal arts education, and provide resources for continuing education and community service. Our program objective is the pursuit of empirical, historical, literary, philosophical, and theoretical approaches to the field of Judaic studies through creative scholarship, undergraduate and graduate courses, scholarly lectures, and community events.
The Center seeks to promote the academic and scholarly study of Jewish history, culture, and civilization in recognition of the need to bring that study to a general audience. Center activities are open to all persons, regardless of religious or ethnic background.
Academic Programs
The Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life actively supports both graduate and undergraduate study. UConn Storrs, the flagship academic institution of the state, offers a Ph.D. concentration, a Bachelor of Arts, and a minor in Judaic studies.
The Hebrew and Judaic Studies (HEJS) section in the Department of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages serves as the focal point of undergraduate and graduate instruction in Judaic studies, but courses are also taught out of many other departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Courses cover a broad range of periods, disciplinary approaches, and regions; many of these courses satisfy General Education requirements.
History of the Center
The Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life was established in 1979 with the support of philanthropists Doris and Simon Konover, under the direction of Sociology Professor Arnold Dashefsky. Community outreach grew in those early years with the advent of the Faculty Forum Luncheon Lecture Series in 1979 and the Yiddish Tish in 1982, both of which continue to this day.
More History
The Center was first housed in Manchester Hall before relocating to the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center in 1995. The MA in Judaic Studies launched in 1999, making UConn one of only thirteen public institutions in the United States to offer this degree.
In 2009, the Doris and Simon Konover Chair of Judaic Studies was created, with Professor Dashefsky as its first holder. Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel delivered a special lecture at UConn to honor the occasion. The Fierberg Endowed Lecture (2003) also established the Center’s annual Holocaust Convocation, which continues today.
In 2013, Professor Jeffrey Shoulson succeeded Arnold Dashefsky as Director and Konover Chair. Professor Sebastian Wogenstein served as Interim Director in 2017, followed by Professor Avinoam Patt as Director in 2019. In 2023, Professor Wogenstein again served as Interim Director.
In 2024, Associate Professor Jessica Cooperman became our current Director and Doris and Simon Konover Chair of Judaic Studies, a position supported by a generous $1.5-million endowment from the Konover Foundation.