Category: Uncategorized

Central Synagogue recording

Maurice Sendak was once described as “one of the most powerful men in the United States,” by art critic Brian O’Doherty, for having “given shape to the fantasies of millions of children.” In this special PRIDE book talk with Dr. Golan Moskowitz, journey into the fantastical world of Sendak’s stories and illustrations. Examine how Sendak’s multiple perspectives as a gay, Holocaust-conscious, American-born son of Yiddish-speaking Jewish immigrants from Poland informed his life and work. Explore how his creative output interacted dynamically with his cultural surroundings. This talk and Q&A will offer insights into experiences of marginality and emotional resilience that remain relevant and visionary to this day.

Read More »

AJHS event recap and recording

Golan Moskowitz joined us for a presentation Wild Outside in the Night: Queer Jewishness and Childhood Liminality in the Picture-Books of Maurice Sendak a talk based off his book Wild Visionary: Maurice Sendak in Queer Jewish Context (Stanford University Press, 2020). In his talk, Golan spoke about the ways in which Maurice Sendak’s work connects to queer identity, Jewish American history, holocaust memory, and the history of modern childhood. Golan spoke about Sendak’s family life and upbringing as the queer child of Yiddish speaking immigrants, impacted by the holocaust and economic depression. Not just in the Sendak household but also for other Yiddish speaking and minority families, childhood bedtime stories reflected harsh realities of the world and taught children how to recognize dangerous situations. For Sendak, the truth of the stories was a way to build trust and connection with his parents and grandparents. Sendak’s extraordinary children’s books often featured characters who used fantasy as a way to combat isolation and claim a sense of self outside of conventional expectations. Sendak’s characters stand directly in opposition to a mid-century generic child ideal of vulnerable innocence, this generic child image was used to socio-politically define what was “normal” and “American.” Sendak’s children experienced a kind of wildness and danger, and were not always innocent or protected.

Read More »

Reinventing the University for Lifelong Learning.

I don’t know if there’s a more segregated part of our society than the education system. We won’t even put 8 year olds in the same room as 10 year olds. Most Americans’ education ends in their 20’s. Ilana talks to us about reimagining the education system.

Read More »

What do we know about American Jewry?

A Conversation on the 2020 Pew Survey of Jewish Americans

Presented by the Stuart and Suzanne Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience at Tulane University

Dr. Ilana Horwitz, Fields-Rayant Chair in Contemporary Jewish Life at Tulane University, will be joined by sociological and education experts Dr. Ari Y. Kelman of Stanford, Dr. Leonard Saxe of Brandeis, and Dr. Becka A. Alper of the Pew Research Center in a discussion of the results of the 2020 survey of Jewish Americans.

Read More »

Faith and Truth-Seeking: What is the Role of Religion in Higher Ed?

In recent years, colleges and universities have seen a rise of campus orthodoxies, which exclude or stigmatize some questions and ideas in favor of others. Jonathan Haidt has written that the proper telos of the university is truth, and that other commitments must be subordinated to the free pursuit of knowledge and the exposure of falsehoods. However, hundreds of accredited colleges and universities have an explicit religious identity, sometimes including a statement of faith.

Read More »