Category: Press
Pious Pupils in America Perform Better
Religion is making a comeback in American public schools, and Republicans are leading the charge. In April Ron DeSantis, Florida’s governor, signed a bill to allow clergy in public schools (Texas and Louisiana have passed similar laws). In June Louisiana passed a law requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public-school classroom. A week later Oklahoma’s state superintendent directed all public schools to teach the Bible.
Holocaust survivor described as ‘miracle baby’ to speak at Tulane Wednesday
NEW ORLEANS — A Holocaust survivor will share her story during a talk on Tulane University’s campus on Wednesday. Rosy Rosenkranz is described as a miracle baby, born in a Siberian slave labor camp, according to Professor Dodd Loomis, who has researched her family extensively.
Tulane University Departments and Touro Synagogue Collaborate on Two Upcoming Events
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Tulane’s Department of Theatre and Dance (TUTD), in collaboration with Touro Synagogue and the Stuart and Suzanne Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience, invites the community to embark on a journey through history with two extraordinary events.
“Only Miracles,” a new immersive Holocaust theater experience, debuts at Touro
very unusual story of survival during the Holocaust, told in an innovative fashion, is making its debut in New Orleans this month with “Only Miracles.”
The interactive event will be in the Touro Synagogue sanctuary from April 13 to 15, where groups of 10 audience members will go into the room every 10 minutes for an immersive experience. “It’s theater, but it is also educational,” said playwright, director and producer Dodd Loomis.
American Jewish History: An Economic Perspective
This project offers a new perspective on economics as the driving engine of the American Jewish experience writ large. Though scholars have long been interested in the economic lives of American Jews, the field has been limited by an overreliance on one central question: Are the contours of Jewish economic life dictated by genetic characteristics or Jewish propensities toward capitalist pursuits, or are they more reflective of the particular economies and structural factors of each place and time?
Tulane’s Jewish Studies Department receives $1 million gift and $1 million matching challenge
Tulane University has received a $1 million gift—and an additional matching challenge grant of up to $1 million—from the TAWANI Foundation, led by Colonel (IL) Jennifer N. Pritzker, IL ARNG (Retired). The gift will establish the Audrey G. Ratner Excellence Endowed Fund for American Jewry and Jewish Culture in the School of Liberal Arts—moving the Department of Jewish Studies significantly closer to its goal of creating a world-class hub of Jewish learning dedicated to the innovative and holistic study of American Jews.
Wild Visionary: Maurice Sendak in Queer Jewish Context
LINK: https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=31783 Wild Visionary reconsiders Maurice Sendak’s life and work in the context of his experience as a Jewish gay man. Maurice (Moishe) Bernard Sendak (1928–2012) was
An Interview with Michael R. Cohen
LINK: https://cup.columbia.edu/author-interviews/cohen-birth-conservative-judaism The following is an interview with Michael R. Cohen, author of The Birth of Conservative Judaism: Solomon Schechter’s Disciples and the Creation of an American
Online Education Has Exacerbated Inequalities
Due to worldwide lockdowns, education has moved online. Most American households do not have access to the right technologies, spaces and basic needs to provide a quality online education for their kids.
