Research Initiatives
Cutting-edge research primarily in the form of conferences, working groups, and convenings that advance and bolster new and innovate approaches. Our research makes the Grant Center a hub of interdisciplinary thought and development.
Conference
Beinner Annual Symposium
Working Groups
Jewish Caribbean Working Group- Fall 2024
Marilyn Miller
-
Tulane University
Paul B. Miller
-
Vanderbilt University
Sarah Phillips Casteel
-
Carleton University
Building Israel on the Ashes: The Shoah’s Influence on Right-Wing Zionism just before, during and after World War II : Spring 2025
Amir Goldstein
-
Tel Hai University
Avi Shilon
-
Shazar Publishers
-
Columbia University
Brian Horowitz
-
Tulane University
Clashing with Jabotinsky: The Formation of the Zionist Right and Its Consequences for the Political Right in Israel: FALL 2024
Amir Goldstein
-
Tel Hai University
Andrew Koss
-
Mosaic Magazine
Avi Shilon
-
Shazar Publishers
-
Columbia University
Jewish Intellectual History in Eastern Europe
Brian Horowitz
-
Tulane University
Dimitry Shumsky
-
Hebrew University Jerusalem
David Myers
-
University of California Los Angeles
American Jewish Literature Working Group
Maeera Schreiber
-
University of Utah
Josh Lambert
-
Wellesley College
Jewish Gender Performance and Drag Working Group
Golan Moskowitz
-
Tulane University
Jonathan Branfman
-
Stanford University
Kathleen B. Casey
-
Virginia Wesleyan University
Joseph Schechtman – Across Continents—From Europe to the US, from Revisionism to American Conservatism
Brian Horowitz
-
Tulane University
Andrew Koss
-
Mosaic Magazine
Other Projects
The Grant Center looks to deepen its partnership with Monash University's Australian Center for Jewish Civilisation (ACJC)- the leading home for Jewish Studies in Australia. ACJC will anchor the transpacific component of Grant Center's Global American Jewish Studies initiative, building upon the Grant Center's recent Capitalism and Global Migration conference in Sydney. The innovative partnership will also feature joint faculty research initiatives, public-facing digital content, faculty and graduate student exchanges, and opportunities for Tulane undergraduates.
https://vimeo.com/980752798https://vimeo.com/946687272https://vimeo.com/946684607
Only Miracles is a 90-minute interactive, theatrical, and educational experience written and directed by Dodd Loomis as his final MFA thesis showing. It is sectioned out into three parts, to offer a truly dynamic and unique observation of the historical lived experiences of its subjects.
The first section is a 45-minute immersive theatrical event rooted in the principles of documentary theater.
The dominant source material for this section is a pair of interviews—of Holocaust survivors Ed and Helen Lefkowitz—conducted by the Shoah Visual History Foundation on March 23, 1995.
Transcriptions of these interviews, coupled with other historic documentation, serve as the backbone of the text for the project.
The second section is a 10-minute, multimedia museum experience.
The source material for this section derives from the same 1995 interviews, as well as historic audio and video content including maps, ground plans, calendars, ticket stubs, and photographs chronicling the Lefkowitz’s arduous 7,000-mile journey of survival.
The third section is an optional, reflective space for guests to commune with other participants and digest the experience.
This innovative show is produced by the Tulane University School of Liberal Arts’ Department of Theatre and Dance, the Stuart and Suzanne Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience, and Touro Synagogue.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Dodd Loomis is a playwright, director, and producer whose work has toured over 35 countries, across 5 continents. Two of his previous plays were also rooted in the principles of Documentary Theatre and toured the globe for over 7 years. Loomis is currently the production manager for TUTD and a professor in the Department of Digital Media Practices. Only Miracles is the final showing for his MFA in Interdisciplinary Studies of the Performing Arts. Dodd is a proud member of Touro Synagogue.
Only Miracles features performances by Carl Briggs, Ally Heller, Audrey Jarnagin, Valeria Lievano, Caroline Sloter, and Zachary Sturza. Sound design and composition by Dylan Hunter, whose recent credits include Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play with TUTD and Roleplay with Goat in the Road Productions. The lighting design is by Emmy Award winner Rachel Levy. Projections are by James Lanius, whose recent credits include Haint Blu with Urban Bush Women and The Great Leap with OKC Rep. Live music is performed by violist Sam Baron and pianist Adam Matasar.
Previous
Next
Only Miracles Production
A Conversation with Rose (Raisa) Lefkowitz Rosenkranz
Listen to Rose Rosenkranz, a Holocaust survivor and "miracle baby" born in a Siberian Slave Labor Camp in the heart of the war, in conversation with Golan Moskowitz, as she shares her story of resilience and hope. The Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience at Tulane University will present an evening of powerful narratives and personal reflections of life in the United States after the Holocaust.
Ms. Rosenkranz's remarkable story will not only educate but serve as the inspiration for the immersive theatre production titled Only Miracles, Written and Directed by Tulane Visiting Assistant Professor, Dodd Loomis. This captivating production, that took place in mid-April at the historic Touro Synagogue, brought to life the experiences of Ms. Rosenkranz, her parents and others who lived through this dark chapter in history.
Rose Rosenkranz's New Orleans School Visits
The Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience hosted a series of significant events in which Holocaust survivor Rose Rosenkranz, the subject of the play "Only Miracles," visited schools in the New Orleans area. During her heartfelt presentations, she shared her harrowing experiences during the Holocaust and the challenges she faced as a young immigrant moving to the United States. Rose's powerful story resonated deeply with students, fostering important discussions about resilience, hope, and the critical lessons of history. Her visit not only educated the youth about the Holocaust but also inspired them to appreciate the values of compassion and understanding in today's world.
In December 2020, Colonel (IL) Jennifer N. Pritzker, IL ARNG (Retired) facilitated a gift commitment of $1,000,000 over five years from the TAWANI Foundation to establish the Audrey G. Ratner Excellence Endowed Fund for American Jewry and Jewish Culture. Additionally, the TAWANI Foundation agreed to match, dollar for dollar, over a period of five years, private cash and stock donations received by Tulane in support of the Audrey G. Ratner Excellence Endowed Fund, for a total of up to $1,000,000. The TAWANI Foundation gift is made in honor of Audrey Gilbert Ratner, the matriarch of the Ratner-Pritzker families. Ms. Ratner is mother to Jennifer, and grandmother to both Andrew Pritzker and Emily Ratner. Ms. Ratner selected Tulane to be the recipient of this honorary gift from her daughter Jennifer to honor her grandchildren’s education and continued involvement at Tulane.
The Audrey G. Ratner Excellence Endowed Fund for American Jewry and Jewish Culture supports a dynamic slate of action-oriented programming goals, innovative student engagement activities, and cutting edge research, educating Tulane students for the transformative purpose of becoming the forward-thinking Jewish leaders of tomorrow. To accomplish this goal, the endowment will support key initiatives and programs. Students will have opportunities to cultivate leadership skills through structured academic experiences: the Audrey G. Ratner Jewish Leadership Course and Student Faculty Research Funds.
The Ratner Speaker Series supports lectures, roundtables, and films and could bring internationally renowned speakers to Tulane University. Our participants—artists, scholars, public intellectuals, communal leaders—will contribute to a robust conversation about American Jewish culture, history, and ideas, to which the entire Tulane community would be invited. Ratner Speakers will also meet with student leaders at Hillel, connecting their academic work with our community and offering another area where student leaders could experience life-changing growth in their personal understanding and relationship to Judaism and Judaic culture. As part of the match challenge, new donors can make contributions of any amount to support this program. Those donors who make gifts of $100,000 or greater would be able to create named endowed funds.
https://vimeo.com/927229440https://vimeo.com/1001657582/42ca97a8a0https://vimeo.com/886552294
The Oxford Handbook of American Jewish History will create a vibrant dialogue among the varied approaches to the study of American Jews, taking stock of the field and working to move it forward in conversation with the neighboring fields of American history and modern Jewish history. The Handbook is edited by Grant Center Director Dr. Michael Cohen, together with Dr. Shari Rabin (Oberlin), and its authors are drawn from the ranks of the senior scholars who pioneered the field, often from the vantage point of other areas of study, as well as younger scholars, both those trained in American Jewish history and those studying American Jews from other disciplines. The Handbook will act as a guide for outside scholars looking to understand American Jews and for those within American Jewish history – novices and veterans alike – interested in up-to-date assessments of key questions in the field. Its essays will explore a variety of conceptual frameworks that have been and continue to be important for understanding American Jews, and will move forward into the arena of American Jewish studies, highlighting how new methodologies can enhance scholarly understandings of American Jewish history.
Conferences
Conferences create new intellectual connections, uniting scholars from around the world, breaking down disciplinary and subfield boundaries. Sessions will emphasize both the domestic particularity and global orientation of the American Jewish experience.
Academic Seminars
Academic Seminars bring the world’s elite scholars to New Orleans, where they will share cutting-edge research with the Tulane community.
Working Groups
Working Groups explore anti-Semitism, Jewish identity, and other pressing topics, including the timeliest issues facing American Jewry today. We aspire to be nimble, addressing important topics, like pandemic response, in real time.
