This Spring, don’t miss Gili Getz, Dov Waxman, Adrianne Greenbaum with Klezmer Ensemble Fleytmusik, and World-Class Guest Speakers!
Author: Pamela Weathers
Panel Discussion on Defending Space: Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexuality, and Human Rights in Uncertain Times
What will be the future of interdisciplinary spaces in a Trump administration? Will they come under direct attack from federal authorities, and if so, how? How has the knowledge produced in such spaces prepared us for the political turn that we are now seeing? What kinds of solidarity can our students and faculty expect to find in this moment of danger? And what is our strategy going forward?
A panel discussion entitled “Defending Space: Race/Ethnic Studies, Gender/Sexuality Studies, and Human Rights in Uncertain Times” will be held in the Dodd Research Center’s Konover Auditorium on December 5 from 3:00-5:00pm.
The panel will bring together leaders and faculty of interdisciplinary units devoted to social justice at UConn to address these questions, and to engage the audience in dialogue.
The panelists include:
Debanuj DasGupta, Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies
David Embrick, Africana Studies
Kathryn Libel, Director, Human Rights Institute
Glenn Mitoma, Director, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
Mark Overmyer-Velàzquez, Director, El Instituto
Cathy Schlund-Vials, Director, Asian and Asian American Studies
Jeffrey Shoulson, Director, Center for Judaic Studies
Chris Vials, Director, American Studies
This event is co-sponsored by the UConn Humanities Institute, American Studies, Institute for Asian and Asian American Studies, El Instituto, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Africana Studies, Judaic Studies, the Dodd Center, and the Human Rights Institute.
Missed Comedian Jesse Appell? Watch His Presentation Here!
Up-and-coming comedian Jesse Appell visited UConn on November 16 as part of his college circuit tour. He discussed his experiences of being a Jewish-American comedian living in China and the ways humor can transcend culture by tapping into commonalities people share.
Appell’s visit was the final event of our Jewish Humor Series and was made possible by UConn’s Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life, the Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Hartford, UConn’s Asian and Asian American Studies Institute, and UConn’s Asian American Cultural Center.
A graduate of Brandeis University, Jesse continued his studies in Beijing in 2012 where his receipt of a Critical Language Enhancement Award made possible intensive language study, and a Fulbright scholarship funded his research on Chinese comedy. His unique brand of intercultural comedy mixes Jewish humor with the traditional art of Xiangsheng, a 150-year-old Chinese comedy folk art.
As well as studying and performing Xiangsheng, Jesse also performs bilingual improv and has been showcased on Chinese television. He writes a comedy blog for China Personified and LaughBeijing and created the LaughBeijing project in an effort to connect Chinese and Western culture through comedy and to develop new ways of combining the comedic styles of both groups.
Professor Fred Roden to Present at Temple Emanu-El in NYC
Sunday Brunch’s with the Men’s Club
Special Guest
Dr. Frederick Roden
Modernity and New Jewish Identities
Sunday, December 11, 2016 – 10:00 AM
Temple Emanu-El – One East 65th St. NYC
The modern world created new Jewish identities encompassing a range of experiences: from intermarriage and conversion to full participation in the civic life of the nation. The 19th century proclaimed Judaism as a religion, not a race. The 20th century had to reckon with both Zionism and the Holocaust to answer, “Who is a Jew?” Today, we continue to reinvent what it means to be “Jew-ish.” The ideals of our heritage are alive and well in the 21st century. Modernity has resulted in gains, not losses, to the unfolding Jewish legacy. Join Professor Frederick Roden as he tells this story from his latest book.
Temple member Dr. Frederick Roden is the author and editor of seven books in the fields of 19th-century literature, religion and culture, and gender studies. He teaches in the Department of English at the University of Connecticut, where he serves on the faculty of Judaic studies and the women’s/genders/sexualities studies program.
The charge for this event is $30 for Men’s Club and Women’s Auxiliary members; $35 for all other temple members and guests (includes brunch). Register online at www.emanuelnyc.org/mc-identities.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Please return this reservation slip in the enclosed envelope with your check payable to:
The Men’s Club of Congregation Emanu-El
______ Yes, I (we) will attend the lecture with Dr. Frederick Roden on Sunday, December 11, 2016 at 10 a.m.
$30 for Men’s Club and Women’s Auxiliary members; $35 for all other Temple members and guests
Enclosed is my check for _____ reservation(s) for a total cost of $________
NAME _________________________________________________________________
GUEST(S) _______________________________________________________________
TELEPHONE /EMAIL _______________________________________________________
Jewish Playwriting Contest to Hold Audience Selection Round at Charter Oak Cultural Center
Charter Oak Cultural Center audience members will select the winning play to send to New York City for the final round of competition in the Jewish Plays Project playwriting contest. Center Director Jeffrey Shoulson, chair of the play selection committee, along with a panel of judges, has determined which three playwrights out of the top 10 finalists will have the opportunity to present 20-minute dramatic readings of portions of their work at Charter Oak Cultural Center before the audience, voting by smart phone, crowns a winner who moves on to the final round in New York City.
This event, made possible by the Charter Oak Cultural Center and the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life will be held on February 16, 2017, from 7:00-10:00 pm at Charter Oak Cultural Center (21 Charter Oak Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106).
Reserve your FREE tickets by following this link: https://jpwchartford2017.eventbrite.com
Created by the Jewish Plays Project, this evening of theater is focused on the best and brightest in
contemporary Jewish playwriting. The Jewish Plays Projects receives more than 850 new, full-length plays on important Jewish themes and selects 10 finalists whose work is shown in various cities throughout the US. Audiences then weigh in on which play will ultimately be produced.
To date, winning plays for 18 Jewish Plays Projects have gone on to production in New York, London, Tel Aviv, and many US cities.
Take part in this fun and innovative project, and help select a winner!
Center Director Jeffrey Shoulson Contributes to the Association for Jewish Studies
Center Direct Jeffrey Shoulson contributed to the November 2016 issue of AJS News, which focused on the topic of contingent faculty. In On Contingent Faculty, Professor Shoulson considered the role of non-tenure-track faculty in the university system and specifically within Jewish Studies programs and predicted that the reliance on contingent faculty would continue to increase as fiscal pressures persist in constraining university spending. Professor Shoulson discussed the ways contingent faculty members can be supported by their programs and departments and expressed the hope that standards of pay and benefits would rise. Read the full article here.
October 2016 e-News released
Don’t miss out on news about the upcoming visit to UConn of Fulbright scholar and comedian Jesse Appell in this issue of our e-newsletter!
Missed Stand-Up Comic Jessica Kirson? Watch the Event Now!
On October 19, noted stand-up comic Jessica Kirson spoke on the topic of Jewish comedy at the University of Hartford as the second feature in a three-part Jewish Humor Series that the Center for Judaic Studies is participating in this fall with the Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Hartford.
Students, faculty, and community members were treated to a fun night as they listened to Kirson’s unique take on life and Jewish humor. Jessica Kirson has twice appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The View, HBO, and will be featured in Robert De Niro’s upcoming movie The Comedian set to be released this December.
If you missed the event, please watch it here!
The final event in the Jewish Humor Series will take place on November 16 at 7pm when Fulbright scholar and comedian Jesse Appell presents on Chinese and Jewish humor on the UConn campus, Laurel Hall, room 102.
11/9 The Rescuers: Film Screening and Talkback with Director Michael King and Executive Producer Joyce Mandell
On November 9 at 7:00pm, award-winning film The Rescuers will be screened at the Konover Auditorium in the Dodd Research Center followed by a question and answer session with Director Michael King and Executive Producer Joyce Mandell. The event is being co-hosted by UConn Hillel, the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life, and the UNESCO Chair and Institute of Comparative Human Rights and organized by UConn student Nathan Schachter, theater studies and communications major. This event is free and open to the public and also counts towards Sophomore Honors credit .
About the Director
Micha
el King, award-winning producer, writer, and director of music videos and documentaries, is originally from New London, CT. He graduated from Connecticut College with a BA in Government and holds an MA in Film Studies from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and a postgraduate degree in Feature Film Directing from the Amsterdam School of the Arts (Mauritis Binger Film Institute). In addition to teaching at both Emerson College and Lynn University, King was awarded Switzerland’s Carl Lutz Medal of Freedom in 2009 and Connecticut College’s Harriet Buescher Lawrence ’34 Prize for his lifework in film and television in 2010. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America and a former board member of the International Documentary Association. His newest film When War Comes Home was released last month and follows the lives of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. His other works include feature film and various PBS documentaries, including the Emmy award-winning Bangin’ which explores youth violence in America.
About the Film
The Rescuers follows Stephanie Nyombayire, a young Rwandan anti-genocide activist, and Sir Martin Gilbert, a leading Holocaust historian, as they travel across Europe and elsewhere interviewing survivors and descendants of the diplomats who rescued thousands of Jews from the Nazis. The film also explores the connection between the Holocaust and other genocides, such as in Rwanda, that have taken place in the modern world. The film sheds light on what it truly means to be a “diplomat” and how we all can embrace our inner diplomatic tendencies. The Rescuers teaches a different side of the Holocaust that many people don’t know about.
Winner of “Best Historical Documentary” at the New York International Film Festival (2011), Winner of “Best Documentary” at the Palm Beach International Film Festival (2011), Winner of“Best Documentary” at the Beloit International Film Festival (2011), Winner of “Best Narration Documentary and Feature Film Humanitarian Award” at the Monaco International Film Festival (2011), Nominated for an NAACP Image Award (2012), screened at the United Nations Conference on January 23, 2013.
11/14/16 Professor Dalia Wassner to Present Multi-Directional Cosmopolitans: Women Warriors of the Southern Cone
As part of the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life’s Faculty Colloquium Series, Professor Dalia Wassner will present “Multi-Directional Cosmopolitans: Women Warriors of the Southern Cone” on November 14, 2016, at 1:15 in the Class of ’47 Room at Homer Babbidge Library. Attending this event will count towards Sophomore honors. The lecture is being co-hosted by El Instituto: Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies. A kosher lunch will be provided.
In the years after World War II, Latin America’s Southern Cone served as a refuge for former Nazis. A generation later, the military governments of the Southern Cone abducted and “disappeared” thousands of their own citizens, once again creating fragmented societies by demanding silence and collaboration in violent pursuit of “civilization” and “national purity.” Professor Wassner will highlight the historical parallels between the Holocaust and the “Dirty Wars” perceived by a cohort of Jewish feminist cultural activists in Argentina and Chile through an exploration of the Holocaust imagery these activists employed both during the dictatorships, through subversive cultural avenues, and in pursuit of reconciliation and democratization in their aftermath.
Dalia Wassner earned her Ph.D. in History at Northeastern University in 2012. She is currently a Research Associate at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute of Brandeis University where her research interests include feminist cultural responses to violence in a trans-Atlantic frame, collective memory in terms of multidirectional memory and postmemory, and cultural connections between Jews and other minorities involved in Latin American processes of national democratization. Professor Wassner teaches Women’s Studies, Latin American Studies, and Jewish Studies, most recently at Emerson College, Boston University, and Brandeis University. Her book Harbinger of Modernity: Marcos Aguinis and the Democratization of Argentina (Boston: Brill, 2014), illuminates the intersecting roles of Jews and public intellectuals in bringing democracy to post-dictatorship Argentina.