Previous Public Programs & Cultural Events
2012-2013 EVENTS
SEPT 9-10, 2012 | conference
Judaism, Science & Medicine Group Annual Meeting
Day 1: Evolution and Traditional Religions
Day 2: The Obesity Epidemic: A Multi-Disciplinary Examination
University Club | 425 East University Drive | Arizona State University, Tempe campus
SEPT 19, 2012 | film screening | Polish-Jewish Film Series
The Moon is Jewish (Ksiezyc jest Zyd)
7 p.m. | Barrett, The Honors College | Cottonwood Hall, room 103 | Arizona State University, Tempe campus
OCT 18 | lecture
Jewish Philosophy Crossing Boundaries Lecture Series
Transgressing Boundaries: Jewish Philosophy in Crisis
Aaron Hughes, Rochester University
4 p.m. | Lattie F. Coor Hall, room 4403 | Arizona State University, Tempe campus
OCT 22, 2012 | lecture
Greening the Desert: Israel's Strategy to Combat Desertification
Alon Tal, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research at Ben Gurion University of the Negev
7 p.m. | Desert Botanical Garden | 1201 North Galvin Parkway, Phoenix
this event is made possible through a special grant from MASA
OCT 23, 2012 | lecture
Sustainability and Equity in a Desert Environment: The Case of Israel
3 p.m. | Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University, Tempe campus
this event is made possible through a special grant from MASA
OCT 31, 2012 | lecture
The Wonder of Their Voices: The History and Meaning of Interviewing Holocaust Survivors
Alan Rosen, Holocaust Scholar
4 p.m. | Lattie F. Coor Hall, room 4403 | Arizona State University, Tempe campus
NOV 1, 2012 | lecture
Cities, Writing, and Readerships: Social History and Jewish Sectarianism in the Early Centuries of Islam
Fred Astren, San Francisco State University
4 p.m. | Lattie F. Coor Hall, room 4403 | Arizona State University, Tempe campus
NOV 2, 2012 | lecture
Karaite Judaism: A Jewish Alternative to Rabbis and the Talmud, from the Middle Ages to the Present
Fred Astren, San Francisco State University
5:45 p.m. Kabbalat Shabbat Service | Beth El Congregation | 1118 West Glendale Avenue, Phoenix
NOV 3, 2012 | lecture
Judaism and Islam: Roots, Relationships and Perceptions
Fred Astren, San Francisco State University
9 a.m. services with Q&A afterward | Beth El Congregation | 1118 West Glendale Avenue, Phoenix
NOV 4, 2012 | community symposium
On the Cutting Edge… Today's Jewish Woman
8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. | Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, Scottsdale
pre-registration required | for additional information: 480-634-8050 or jewished@bjephoenix.org
NOV 8-9, 2012 | symposium
The Revival of Jewish Studies in Poland and Eastern Europe
This symposium will inaugurate the formal relationship between the
Center for Jewish Studies, the Melikian Center: Russian, Eurasian&
East-European Studies and the Department of Jewish Studies at
Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
Arizona State University, Tempe campus | additional details to be announced
NOV 8, 2012 | lecture
Memory and Countermemory: For an Open Future
What Does It Mean to Inherit the Past? Migrant Archives of Holocaust Remembrance
Michael Rothberg, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
7 p.m. | Arizona Jewish Historical Society, 122 East Culver Street, Phoenix
additional information at http://ccics.asu.edu
NOV 14 | Valley Beit Midrash panel discussion
Jews and Political Power
presented by Valley Beit Midrash in cooperation with Arizona State University
7 p.m. | Congregation Or Chadash | registration fee: $18 | register now
CHAIR
Hava Tirosh-Samuelson | Director of Jewish Studies
PANEL
Jewish Influence on Politics and Policy
Donald T. Critchlow | Barry M. Goldwater Chair of American Institutions at ASU
Jews and the Presidential Election
Patrick Kenney | Dean of Social Sciences at ASU
Judaism and Democracy: The Problem of Power
Amit Ron | Assistant Professor, Social and Behavioral Sciences at ASU
NOV 19 | film screening | Polish-Jewish Film Series
The Miracle of Purim (Cud Purimowy)
7 p.m. | Barrett, The Honors College | Cottonwood Hall, room 103 | Arizona State University, Tempe campu
download publicity flyer
JAN 30, 2013 | lecture
The Debate on Slavery and the Decline of the Old Testament as a Political Text
Eran Shalev, Haifa University
3:30 p.m. | Lattie F. Coor Hall, room 4401 | Arizona State University, Tempe campus
download event flyer
FEB 7 | lecture
Jewish Philosophy Crossing Boundaries Lecture Series
Bioengineering God: Oskar Goldberg and German Science
Bruce Rosenstock, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
4 p.m. | Lattie F. Coor Hall, room 4403 | Arizona State University, Tempe campus
FEB 11 | lecture
The Arab Spring: between hopes & challenges
Jonathan Fine
1:30 p.m. | West Hall room 135
Sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies, Center for the Study of Religion & Conflict and School of Politics & Global Studies.
FEB 20 | Jewish Studies Film Series screening
film: Love& Dance
followed by a discussion with Dr. Daniel Gilfillan & Dr. Anna Cichopek-Gajraj
7 p.m. | Memorial Union, Pima Auditorium
Free admission. Open to all. No reservations required.
Chen is caught in the middle of the cultural conflict raging between his
Russian-born mother and his Israeli father. One day he happens upon a
ballroom dance class for young people and sees Natalie, a stunning young
Russian girl with whom he immediately falls in love. His interest in
Natalie results in his taking ballroom dancing classes and ultimately
bridging the cultural divide in his own family—with the help of the
Cha-cha-cha and the Tango. Meanwhile, Chen's teachers are former world
champions from Russia who never quite fulfilled their potential and who
find themselves battling their own demons while training their young
students.
FEB 25 | lecture
Albert & Liese Eckstein Scholar-in-Residence
Can Israel be Both a Democratic and Jewish State?
Zvi Gitelman, University of Michigan
7 p.m. | Arizona Jewish Historical Society | 122 East Culver Street, Phoenix
reserve your spot or call 480-727-5151
Does Israel treat its Arab minority as equal citizens? If not, can it
claim to be a democracy? On the other hand, if there is no distinction
between Jews and others, in what sense would Israel be a “Jewish” state?
The Albert & Liese Eckstein Scholar-in-Residence program is made
possible through an endowment established by the late Dr. Albert and
Mrs. Liese Eckstein, with additional contributions from the Eckstein
family and Friends of Jewish Studies. The program features annual
lectures by experts—professors, authors and other—in the field of Jewish
Studies.
APR 15 | Jewish Studies Celebrates our Outstanding Students
7 p.m. | Memorial Union, room 202 (Alumni Lounge)
reserve your spot now or call 480-727-5151
Join us for a delicious dessert reception and evening of celebration, as
we recognize the outstanding accomplishments of the 2011-2012 Jewish
Studies award recipients and winners of the Sonia Minuskin Memorial
Competition for the Best Undergraduate Research Paper Related to the
Holocaust. Each of the award winners will give a brief presentation of
their research and share their experiences funded by endowments
generously established by Jewish Studies donors. event program
2011-2012 EVENTS
APR 17, 2012
Annual Student Recognition Event
7 p.m. | Memorial Union, room 202 (Alumni Lounge) | Arizona State University, Tempe campus
reserve your place online at jewishstudies.asu.edu/students or by calling 480-727-5151
Join us for a dessert reception and evening of celebration, as we recognize the outstanding accomplishments of the 2010-2011 Jewish Studies award recipients. Each student will give a brief presentation of their research and share their experiences funded by endowments generously established by Jewish Studies donors.
APR 15, 2012 | lectures
Yom Ha’Shoah Lectures by Dr. Lawrence Baron, San Diego State University
additional information to be announced
MAR 26-APR, 2012 | guest lecturer series
Through Resilience, Creativity and War
Elma Softic-Kaunitz, Secretary General, Jewish Community of Bosnia Herzegovina
Pavie Kaunitz, Journalist and Community Organizer in Bosnia Herzegovina
MAR 4-5, 2012 | conference
Reimagining Erwin Schulhoff, Viktor Ullmann & the German-Jewish-Czech World
An international research conference and festival devoted to the life,
times and musical legacy of Viktor Ullmann and Erwin Schulhoff.
FEB 20, 2012 | film screening
Nur noch ein Gott kann uns retten | Only A God Can Save Us
a film by Jeffrey van Davis
6:30-9:30 p.m.
Arizona State University Tempe campus
G. Homer Duram Language & Literature Building | room 002
film screening & discussion with filmmaker | free & open to all
FEB 7, 2012 | multi-week course
Humanities and Human Origins: The Creation of Beginnings
The Evolution of Nature: Creation, Nature and Human Origins*
Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Director of Jewish Studies
1-3 p.m. | Northern Trust | 2398 East Camelback Road, Phoenix
Because origins inquiries combine ideas about causation, boundaries and chronology, and link the factual with the ethical and the empirical with the theoretical, the study of origins requires an interdisciplinary approach that draws on the humanities as well as the natural sciences. First session of a five-part course, featuring different speakers: 1-3 p.m. on Tuesdays: February 7, 14, 21, 28 and March 6. Full-course registration required. $175 per person. Additional information and registration.
sponsored by the Phoenix President’s Community Enrichment Program
JAN 30, 2012 | lecture
Albert & Liese Eckstein Scholar-in-Residence
Narratives and History: telling Israel's story without polarization
Dr. Kenneth W. Stein, Emory University
7 p.m. | Arizona Jewish Historical Society, Phoenix | 122 East Culver Street, Phoenix
reserve your spot online at jewishstudies.asu.edu/eckstein or by calling 480-727-5151
Because there is so much emotion involved in telling, understanding, and connecting with Israel’s history, it is difficult at times to tell what is history and what is narrative, what is accurate and what is invented. How can Israel’s story be told without polarization and how can it be taught with equal attempts at objectivity? Looking back into 150 years of Zionist and Israeli history and using the investigative tools of the historian informs these answers.
The Albert & Liese Eckstein Scholar-in-Residence program is made possible through an endowment established by the late Dr. Albert and Mrs. Liese Eckstein, with additional contributions from the Eckstein family and Friends of Jewish Studies. The program features annual lectures by experts—professors, authors, and others—in the field of Jewish Studies.
UPCOMING EVENTS
APR 15 | Jewish Studies Celebrates our Outstanding Students
7 p.m. | Memorial Union, room 202 (Alumni Lounge)
reserve your spot now or call 480-727-5151
Join us for a delicious dessert reception and evening of celebration, as
we recognize the outstanding accomplishments of the 2011-2012 Jewish
Studies award recipients and winners of the Sonia Minuskin Memorial
Competition for the Best Undergraduate Research Paper Related to the
Holocaust. Each of the award winners will give a brief presentation of
their research and share their experiences funded by endowments
generously established by Jewish Studies donors. event program
NOV 6-8, 2011 | research symposium
Memory & Countermemory: Memorialization of an Open Future
Arizona State University, Tempe and West campuses
Distinguished scholars from the United States and Europe will discuss
the relationship between trauma, memory, representation, memorialization
and education. This event is part of the Arizona State University
Project Humanities 2011: “The Humanities at a Crossroads: Perspectives
on Place.” Public events program and additional information.
NOV 6, 2011 | community symposium
On the Cutting Edge . . . Today’s Jewish Woman
8:30 a.m. | Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus
$40 preregistration required: download form
for additional information contact Linda Feldman at 480-634-8050
NOV 3, 2011 | community panel discussion
Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People in Historical Context: A Panel Discussion
George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center | 415 East Grant Street, Phoenix
Panelists: Stephen Batalden, Director, The Melikian Center for Russian,
Eurasian and East European Studies (panel chair); Hava Tirosh-Samuelson,
Director, Center for Jewish Studies at ASU; Anna Cichipek-Gajraj,
School of Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies at ASU
OCT 30-31, 2011 | conference
Phenomenology, Existentialism & the Neurosciences: A Jewish Approach to Medicine
Fourth annual meeting of the Judaism, Science & Medicine Group
Center for Ethics at Emory University, Atlanta
program and additional information
OCT 24, 2011 | panel discussion
Listening to the Land: Desert Spiritual Traditions
7 p.m. | Desert Botanical Garden | Papago Park, Phoenix
$20 per person | register online
Comparative perspectives on the desert in world religions shed light on
the spiritual significance of living in a desert and enhance our
appreciation for living in the unique landscape of the Sonoran desert.
Panelists: Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Judaism; Talitha Arnold, Christianity;
Shahla Talebi, Islam; Tod Swanson, Native American Religious
Traditions
sponsored by the Phoenix President’s Community Enrichment Program in partnership with the Desert Botanical Garden
SEP 14, 2011 | film screening
Jews and Baseball: an American Love Story
7 p.m. | Hillel Jewish Student Center | 1012 South Mill Avenue, Tempe
snacks will be served
sponsored with Hillel, Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival
June 12-14, 2011
conference
15th Annual Latin American Jewish Studies Association Conference
Arizona State University, by invitation only
Concert Series Schedule | Lecture Series Schedule
April 28, 2011
Annual Student Recognition Event
7:00 p.m. | University Club | Arizona State University, Tempe campus
2010 scholarship recipients presented their research findings and talk about their scholarship-funded experiences.
March 1, 2011
Gershon Baskin, Israel-Palestine Center for Research and Information
"Is Israeli-Palestinian Peace Possible? Obstacles & Opportunities"
10:30 a.m. | West Hall 135 | Tempe campus of Arizona State University
"The Israeli Palestinian Conflict & the New Middle East: Is Peace Possible?
"
1:30 p.m.| CLCC 254 | West campus of Arizona State University
January 31, 2011| Albert & Liese Eckstein Scholar-in-Residence lecture
Mordecai M. Kaplan: The Challenge of His Heresy
Mel Scult
7 p.m. | Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center | 122 East Culver Street, Phoenix
r.s.v.p. to jewish-studies@asu.edu or 480-727-6906
November 15-18, 2010 | Artist in Residence
Avner Moriah
December 12, 2010 | Lecture
Modern Miracles: Israeli Solutions to Global Challenges
Jeremy Benstein, The Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership
7 p.m. | Temple Emanuel, Tempe
In collaboration with State of Israel Bonds/Development Corporation for Israel
November 14, 2010 | Jewish Women’s Symposium
On the Cutting Edge… Today’s Jewish Woman
Advance Your Mind—Enhance Your Well-Being
9 a.m. | Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus | pre-registration required
$35 (by Oct. 25) / $15 students with ID | download registration form
October 5, 2010 | free public lectures
Professor Konrad Jarausch, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Lurcy Professor for European History and Professor of History at
Potsdam University, Jarausch is also the co-founder of the UNC/Duke
Center for European Studies and former director of the Zentrum für
Zeithistorische Studien in Potsdam, Germany. He has authored or edited
more than 35 volumes and 200 articles on modern German and European
history.
Brown Bag Talk
Beyond the National Narrative: Implications of Reunification for Recent German History
noon - 1:30 p.m. | Lattie F. Coor Hall, room 4403 | Arizona State University, Tempe campus
Coor Hall location map
| nearest public parking (Apache/Normal parking lot)
Reluctant Accomplice: A Wehrmacht Soldier’s Letters from the Eastern Front
4:30 p.m. |
Discovery Hall, room 150 | Arizona State University, Tempe campus
Discovery Hall location map
| nearest public parking (Apache/Normal parking structure)
Co-sponsored by:
The Melikian Center: Russian, Eurasian & East European Studies; the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (SHPRS); the Faculties of History and Religious Studies in SHPRS; the School of International Letters and Cultures
October 10-11, 2010 | Conference
The Judaism, Science & Medicine Group Conference
Arizona State University, Tempe campus | University Club
open to members of The Judaism, Science & Medicine Group
April 28, 2010
Jewish Studies Student Recognition Event
7 p.m.| University Club | Tempe campus of Arizona State University
April 14, 2010
Etgar Keret, bestselling Israeli author and filmmaker
“On the Art of Writing and Filmmaking in Contemporary Israel: From the Bizarre to the Surreal"
1:30 p.m. | Virginia G. Piper Writers House | Tempe campus of Arizona State University
"The Challenges of Writing and Filmmaking in Israel Today"
7:30 p.m. | Temple Chai | 4645 East Marilyn Road, Phoenix
March 9, 2010
Jeremy Benstein, Ph.D.
Educational/Fellowship Director of Abraham Joshua Heschel Center foe Environmental Learning and Leadership
“Environmentalism between the Personal and the Political: Religious Language in the Public Sphere”
10:30 a.m. | GIOS, Room 481 | Tempe campus
(SW corner of University Dr/College Ave - look for the wind turbines on the roof)
“Environmental Challences & Opportunities: the View from Israel”
7 p.m. | Temple Chai | 4645 East Marilyn Road, Phoenix
Co-sponsored by The Global Institute of Stustainability and Institute for Humanities Research
February 25, 2010
"Drugs and Religious Experience"
Dr. Alon Segev, University of Cologne
4-6 p.m. | ASU Bookstore
West campus of Arizona State University
Free and open to the community. Refreshments will be served.
Sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies and the School of Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies
February 15, 2010
"The Politics of Knowledge: Israel Studies, Jewish Studies and Academia"
and
"Jewish Origins of the Israeli Army" lecture followed by reception and book signing
Derek Penslar, University of Toronto
Albert & Liese Eckstein Scholar-in-Residence Lectures
November 10, 2009
"The Lost Wooden Synagogues of Eastern Europe"
Film and discussion commemorating the 71st anniversary of Kristallnacht
For hundreds of years, the Jews of Eastern European rural communities built their houses of worship from wood. Narrated by Theodore Bikel, this award-winning film tells the story of those synagogues, the life that surrounded them before World War II and their fate in the past 50 years.
co-sponsored by: Melikian Center: Russian, Eurasian & East European Studies
November 8, 2009
"On the Cutting Edge - Today's Jewish Woman: Back by Popular Demand"
Jewish Women’s Symposium
Returning for its 5th year and featuring favorite speakers from previous years. Co-sponsored by the Bureau of Jewish Education, Brandeis National Committee, Hadassah Valley of the Sun, Jewish Studies at ASU, National Council of Jewish Women, Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, Womens Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix
October 6, 2009
Author Reading with Doron Rabinovici
Readings will be in German, followed by discussion in English
co-sponsored by the School of International Letters and Cultures
October 6, 2009
"Jewish Youth in Germany Today: A Multi-Media Project"
Andreas Bechtold, Hochschule Konstanz
October 5, 2009
Public Keynote Lecture
“The Big Void: In Search of Jewish Culture in Post-War Germany”
Michael Brenner, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München