Media Type: Video
Rebecca Kobrin Interview
Join Columbia University’s Rebecca Kobrin as she explores how the Grant Center weaves America’s Jewish history into the broader narrative of world history. Dr. Kobrin highlights the importance of seeing the bigger picture to understand how the past has shaped communities and to uncover broader solutions.
A Rabbi, A Sociologist, and an Israel Educator Walk into a Bar: Our Jewish Moment, On the Rocks
Rabbi Katie Bauman, Dr. Ilana Horwitz, and Israel Educator Elhanan Brown discuss the Jewish future in a post-October 7th world, responding to key challenges facing American Jews, Israeli Jews, and the relationship between Jews in these two centers of Jewish life in the 21st century.
Emily Brauninger-Swan Interview
Meet Emily Brauninger-Swan, our passionate Assistant Director at The Grant Center! Emily shares the heart and purpose behind the incredible work we do at the Grant Center.
She dives into her deep love for the Jewish community and how that inspires her daily efforts to create meaningful connections and foster understanding. Watch as she reflects on the impact of our initiatives and the importance of community engagement in making a difference.
Audrey G. Ratner Speaker Series: A Credit to the Nation: The Lost World of East European Jewish Immigrant ‘Bankers,’ 1873-1930 with Dr. Rebecca Kobrin
How different would the central narrative of American Jewish immigration history sound if we invited its commercial practices to center stage? Between 1870 and 1930 thousands of East European Jewish immigrant businessmen set up financial enterprises called immigrant banks that not only shaped mass Jewish migration from Eastern Europe but American finance as well. Using an interdisciplinary approach that draws on court cases, the foreign language press, business records, and memoirs, Rebecca Kobrin’s talk highlights the central role East European Jewish immigrant entrepreneurs played on both sides of the Atlantic.
Ilana Horwitz Discusses Her New Book, “The Entrepreneurial Scholar: A New Mindset for Success in Academia and Beyond”
Grant Center’s Dr. Ilana Horwitz answers questions about her new book, “The Entrepreneurial Scholar: A New Mindset for Success in Academia and Beyond.” This book is a valuable guide for scholars stifled by the traditional academic route.
America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today
What does it mean to be a Jewish woman in America? Dr. Pamela S. Nadell explores her groundbreaking history of how Jewish women maintained their identity and influenced social activism as they wrote themselves into American history. Dr. Nadell’s book won the National Jewish Book Award–Everett Family Foundation Jewish Book of the Year.
Shabbat Shuvah Guest Speaker Michael Cohen at Touro Synagogue
This year’s Shabbat Shuvah guest speaker was Dr. Michael Cohen, the Stuart and Suzanne Grant Professor in the American Jewish Experience at Tulane University, and the Director of Tulane’s Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience. On September 25, 2024, Mike convened a group of leading journalists and historians in New York City to address the current moment in time for Jewish Americans. The Beinner Symposium’s goal was to explore how this moment fits into the larger arc of American Jewish history, and Mike talked about some of his observations from the discussions. He shared with us a series of questions that emerged which may help us to make sense of this moment, touching upon events on college campuses, the past and future of progressive alliances, the ways in which antisemitism plays out in an era of polarization, as well as the utility of definitions.
A Unique Moment for Jewish Americans? – Beinner Annual Symposium
The annual Beinner Symposium brings together world-renowned scholars from a variety of disciplines – from history to literature, to economics, to sociology and more – to foster innovative collaborations that open new directions for the study of the American Jewish experience.
CULTURE & HERITAGE SERIES – The Jewish Deli: Lecture by Ted Merwin – Author of Pastrami on Rye
For much of the 20th century, the corner Jewish deli was an iconic institution in both Jewish and American life—a kind of homeland for the soul, with pickles on the side. As a social space it rivaled the synagogue as the primary gathering place for the Jewish community. At the same time the deli became an icon in popular culture, featured in a plethora of plays, films, TV shows, songs and stand-up routines.
A Cross-Continental Conversation: Dr. Ilana Horwitz and Dr. David Slucki Discuss Jewish Socioeconomic Diversity
The conversation touches on the role of Jewish institutions in providing social capital and how changes in religious engagement in the U.S. affect these dynamics.
Kosher Soul: Black Jewish Identity Cooking with Michael W. Twitty
Michael W. Twitty is an award-winning culinary historian and food writer. His 2017 book, “The Cooking Gene,” traced his ancestry through food from Africa to
