jspnews Spring 2016

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE JEWISH STUDIES PROGRAM @ UD

From the Director

t is truly exciting to The addition of new faculty In another very exciting report on the Jewish and courses in the coming development, in Spring 2017 I Studies Program’s year will surely continue we will welcome Dr. Roger most recent developments to spark greater interest in Horowitz as a new faculty and accomplishments. the study of Jewish culture, member in the Program. Dr. The Program’s growth has history and languages. Horowitz has taught grad- gained momentum on all In Fall 2016, new faculty uate courses on the history fronts, attracting increasing member Sarah Wasserman of capitalism for many years numbers of students and of the English Department in UD’s History Department faculty members at UD to will teach ENGL/JWST348: Michael Frassetto. In HIST/ and also serves as Director the study and teaching of Contemporary Jewish-Amer- JWST398: Jews Under Cross of the Center for the History Jewish culture, history and ican Literature. By the end of and Crescent, students of Business, Technology, and the Hebrew language. the pre-registration period will explore the history of Society at the Hagley Muse- in early May, the course was encounters between Jews, um and Library in Wilming- The number of students en- completely filled and closed. Muslims, and Christians in ton. A prolific scholar, he is rolled in the Jewish Studies A brief profile of Professor medieval Europe. We are the author of the new book Minor continued to expand Wasserman appears inside pleased to be able to offer Kosher USA: How Coke Be- in Spring 2016, growing of this newsletter. a topic of potential interest came Kosher and other Tales by 25% during the spring not only to of Modern Food, published in semester. Student interest in students of April by Jewish Studies courses has History and Press. Dr. Horowitz will offer also grown. Our one-unit Jewish Stud- a new Jewish Studies and Spring Lecture Series course, ies, but also History course on the global JWST 201, on the theme Religious history of Jewish food, a “Jewish Culture and Society Studies, topic that will surely draw in Global Perspective,” en- Islamic Stud- students from across many rolled 25 students, up from ies, Europe- disciplines and colleges at 6 students who took the an Studies, the university. course in Spring 2015. The and Iberian lecture series featured a doz- Studies. My Please read on to learn more en scholars who presented hope is that about the recent accom- cutting-edge research that student plishments of our students collectively drew attention interest in and faculty, as well as our to the diverse patterns of this course upcoming courses, new settlement, culture, and In Fall 2016 we will also offer will allow us to expand the Special Collections materi- interethnic encounters that a Jewish history course on Program’s curriculum to als, and innovative public have characterized Jewish the medieval period, taught include the medieval and programs. history from ancient times to by the very popular History early modern periods in —Polly Zavadivker the present. Department instructor Dr. future semesters. Kisses to the Children: A Screening with Director Vassilis Loules

n April 27, uals who survived O 2016, the the occupation as Jewish Studies Pro- hidden children, gram, along with the finally selecting the European Studies five who would be Program, UD Hillel featured in the film. Student Life and the Those five indi- Greek community of viduals are Rosina Delaware, spon- Asser-Pardo, Iossif sored a screening Ventura, Eftyhia Na- of the documentary chman-Nachmia, indicated that his original the film as the individuals Kisses to the Children and a Shelly Kounio-Cohen and inspiration was found at the expressed the true pain of Q & A session with Greek Marios Soussis, and each Jewish Museum of Greece having to leave behind their director Vassilis Loules. This one shared their stories in Athens, where he saw the homes and their toys, no- documentary highlights the of struggle, survival and exhibit “Hidden Children in tably a rocking horse and a hidden children of Greece guilt in the documentary. Occupied Greece” in 2005. doll, in exchange for survival. during World War II. The Kisses to the Children has He spoke about how seeing He spent the next seven five children featured in been well-received since the artifacts in the exhibit, years researching the sub- the film are all Greek Jews its premiere in 2012, having especially the toys and ject, locating the children saved by Christians during received numerous awards, photos, motivated him to and conducting interviews. the Nazi occupation of and it has been featured create Kisses to the Children. In all, he communicated Greece. When speaking on three tours across U.S. This inspiration is evident in with about forty individ- about the film, Loules campuses.

Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Sarah Wasserman

am an assistant professor curious researchers collabo- waning, or broken promises When I teach Contemporary I in the English depart- rate, take risks, and engage of American modernity, Jewish American fiction ment at the University of closely with texts in order they figure prominently in this fall, I’ll be asking the Delaware. Prior to joining to discover how the works Jewish American historical students to think about the UD this past fall, I was an we read make meaning and fiction about the Second way that Jewish stories have assistant professor at the JFK move us. World War. I have a chapter, become American stories— Institute of North American for instance, on how the whether we realize it or not. Studies in Berlin, Germany. In addition to teaching in disappearing objects of the Jewish authors such as Philip I received my Ph.D. from the Jewish Studies program, 1939 New York World’s Fair Roth, Nathan Englander, the department of English I teach and study 20th and appear in novels by Michael and Deborah Eisenberg at Princeton University and 21st century American Chabon and E.L. Doctorow. reflect on the way Jewish an M.A. in Humanities from literature, material culture In these stories, the Fairs’ Americans are major players the University of . studies, critical theory, and ephemera speak not only in our culture but frequently Before doing all of that, I digital humanities. I am to the exuberant visions of remain invisible or marginal. studied biology and worked currently at work on a book American innovation, but In my course, I look forward in material sciences. That entitled The Death of Things: also to the horrors unfolding to exploring a rich array of may seem a far cry from Ephemera in America, which overseas. texts; from graphic novels teaching literature, but I find examines literary repre- like Art Spiegelman’s Maus that having this background sentations of ephemeral As a scholar of American to the song lyrics of Bob helps me see how many objects in American culture fiction, I’m especially inter- Dylan, there’s no shortage bridges there are to be built from the beginning of the ested in how Jewish authors of captivating stories and between disciplines. The lit- twentieth century until have navigated the tricky forms that help us think erature classroom, for me, is today. Because ephemera intersections of national, about our relationship to a lab space—a room where can speak to the fleeting, ethnic, and religious identity. difference in this country. Jewish Studies at UD’s Special Collections Student Spotlight: Toni Pitock

arie Jucht Kaufman son, American writer and artist brary also includes photographs detail events she witnessed but M (1930-1994) documented Alan Kaufman, between 1993 of the Jucht family during and also reflects on her own Jewish- her survival of the Holocaust and 1994. The collection of her after World War II, as well as ness and the kindness of many through letters written to her letters at the Hugh M. Morris Li- photocopies of Marie Kaufman’s of the French and Italian people naturalization documents from who aided her family and those France, Venezuela, and the with whom they traveled. . Of his mother’s letters, Alan In 1993, Mr. Kaufman asked his Kaufman wrote: “The narrator mother to detail her and her of the letters is a keen observer, family’s survival account. Be- unashamed of her uncertainty, ginning in 1993, Marie Kaufman frank about her despair, but wrote 33 letters, the last of also extraordinarily resolute in which was written in May 1994. her desire to live, and her faith In the letters, she recounted her in human goodness: her belief and her family’s harrowing ex- despite all evidence to the con- periences hiding from the Nazis, trary that good itself still exists. the French State gendarmes, But she is unflinching in her and the Italian Black Brigades observations of the cowardice, (also known as Black Shirts) delusion and brutality raging all between 1942 and 1944. around her, and these, too, make the letters remarkable.” The letters provide a first-hand account of a French-Jewish Marie Kaufman’s letters and family’s survival in World War II documents are available for view France and Italy. Marie Kaufman’s at Morris Library. testimony not only recounts in

Faculty Research Spotlight: Dr. Polly Zavadivker JWST 201 Lecture Series: Dr. Lila Corwin Berman

ublished in March of this trapped under Russian mil- in the Russian State Archive of P year, Dr. Polly Zavadivker’s itary occupation in Galicia. Literature and Art. Dr. Zavad- new book, 1915 Diary of S. An-sky: As he made his way through ivker translated and annotat- A Russian Jewish Writer at the the shtetls there, close to the ed the fragments of the diary, Eastern Front, features the trans- Austrian frontlines, he kept conveying An-sky’s vivid first- lated writings of Schloyme-Zanvl a diary of his encounters hand descriptions of civilian Rapoport, a Russian Jewish writ- and impressions, written and military life in wartime. er, ethnographer, and cultural in Russian. His diary entries He recorded the brutality and and political activist. This book is present a detailed reflection violence against the civilian available on Amazon.com. of his daily experiences. He population, the complexities describes conversations of interethnic relations, the S. An-sky was by the time of the with wounded soldiers in practices and limitations of First World War a well-known hospitals, fellow Russian and philanthropy and medical writer, a longtime revolution- Jewish aid workers, Russian care, Russification policies, ary, and an ethnographer who military and civilian author- and antisemitism. In the late pioneered the collection of ities, and Jewish civilians in 1910s, An-sky used his diaries Jewish folklore in Russia’s Pale of Galicia and parts of the Pale. as raw material for a lengthy Settlement. In 1915, An-sky took Although most of his diaries memoir in Yiddish published on the assignment of providing were lost, two fragments under the title The Destruction aid and relief to Jewish civilians survived and are preserved of Galicia. Jewish Studies at UD’s Special Collections Student Spotlight: Toni Pitock Spring 2016 Courses

oni Pitock, a Ph.D. student In 2012 and 2013, Toni organized no-religious bonds and kinship T in the History Department, the Jewish Studies Lecture series relationships promoted trust, obtained her B.A. in English and for the JWST 201 course, as well but they did not ensure honesty Psychology at the University of as the History Department’s or cooperation in business. Mer- Witwaatersrand in South Africa, Professional Development Series chants never allowed ethno-re- her M.Sc. in Early Childhood for graduate students. Below, ligious bonds to override their Education at the University of she discusses her time at UD and commercial judgment and inter- Pennsylvania and her M.A. in experiences with Jewish Studies. ests, and they kept some Jews a group to record information History at Villanova University. at arm’s length, sued others, and Toni Pitock’s on the gravestones in the Jewish She came to the University of even cut off close relatives. At Statement cemeteries. Delaware in 2008 to pursue her the same time, shared economic I was attracted to UD because I Ph.D. in History, and recently enterprises brought Jews and liked the History Ph.D. program My dissertation, “Commerce and defended her dissertation, non-Jews together in ventures and the faculty in the History Connection: Jewish Merchants, “Commerce and Connection: and partnerships that were often department. The University’s Philadelphia, and the Atlantic Jewish Merchants, Philadelphia, long lasting and could bring proximity to Philadelphia was World, 1738-1822,” focuses on and the Atlantic World, 1738- mutual economic success. Their also a factor: I knew I would Philadelphia’s early Jewish mer- 1822.” Toni received her Ph.D. at relationships with their Jewish need to spend a lot of time chants. Over the course of two the May commencement. and non-Jewish colleagues in Philadelphia archives. The generations, Jewish newcomers and their American-born sons sheds light on multiple layers of During her time at UD, Toni has program provided great oppor- participated in Atlantic and what it meant to be Jewish at acted as a teaching assistant tunities including stimulating western trade, land speculation, the time. Jews in Philadelphia for numerous classes, including coursework, opportunities to army supply, and they invested used their economic endeavors HIST 104: World History II, HIST teach, and interesting lectures. in corporations aimed at internal and cultural relationships to 205: United States History until Outside of UD, I participate in an development. In these enterpris- flourish in the city, but they also 1865, HIST 206: United States ongoing project to preserve Ja- es they cooperated with Jews found themselves treated as History from 1860 and HIST 254: maica’s Jewish history. I travel to and non-Jews, and I examine “citizen others” on the periphery Jewish Holocaust. She has also Jamaica each year to work with both sets of relationships. Eth- of all citizens. taught her own HIST 206 class.

JWST 201 Lecture Series: Dr. Lila Corwin Berman

2016, the theme of the course the moves that they made was “Jewish Culture and Society during this time period. in Global Perspective,” and there While the Jews did move were 12 lectures throughout out of the urban center, the semester. The lecture on they remained on the April 27th was given by Temple outskirts, in the suburbs, University’s Associate Professor and continued to take an of History Dr. Lila Corwin Berman interest in the urban life and and was entitled “Metropolitan community that Detroit had Jews: Race, Religion and Politics fostered for them. Covering in Postwar Detroit.” This lecture such complex issues as race, he Jewish Studies 201 highlighted the research and religion, social and eco- course is a lecture series that T materials covered in Dr. Berman’s nomic status, and equality, occurs every spring semester book of the same name. In her Dr. Berman explored the and is the only class in the cur- lecture, she discussed the trend ways in which Jews of riculum that is a requirement for of “white flight” from the urban Detroit constructed their the Jewish Studies minor. Each center of Detroit following World world and views based on spring, scholars come to campus War II and discussed the roles location. Her book is now to lecture about a topic related that Detroit’s Jews played and available on Amazon.com. to the series’ theme. For Spring Student Spotlight: Toni Pitock Spring 2016 Courses

Religion and HEBR/JWST 107: History & Politics Philosophy INTERMEDIATE HEBREW THE JEWISH STUDIES HIST/JWST 250: MW 2:30 - 3:20 & TR 3:30 - 4:20 PROGRAM @ UD JWST101: INTRODUCTION COMPARATIVE GENOCIDE • Instructor: Eynat Gutman, TO JUDAISM TR 2:00 - 3:15 • [email protected] SPRING 2016 TR 9:30-10:45am Instructor: Polly Zavadivker, Instructor: Micah Becker-Klein, Strengthening grammar skills, [email protected] Newsletter Editor [email protected] continued practice in speaking, Satisfies breadth requirement B Kathleen Capallo Satisfies breadth requirement B listening, writing and reading This course provides an intro- This course will introduce through conversation, texts and duction to the study of geno- Staff students to some of the different songs. cide and mass killing during the Polly Zavadivker, Director ways Judaism can be explored 20th Century in comparative and Kathleen Capallo, and appreciated through its historical perspective. The cases Literature & Culture Program Assistant political history, the intellectual examined in the course include history of its values and thinkers, ENGL/JWST 202: BIBLICAL the mass murder of Armenians, & CLASSICAL LITERATURE Executive Committee the way it is lived as a modern European Jews, Soviet ethnic TR 2:00 - 3:15 Peter Cole religious faith tradition with and political groups, Cambo- Rebecca Davis ancient biblical roots, and Instructor: Miranda Wilson, dians, Rwandans and former [email protected] Derek Dolby through the prism of different Yugoslav nationalities. cultural arts. Satisfies breadth requirement A Eynat Gutman Satisfies University multicultural requirement Jay Halio HIST/JWST 327: TOPICS IN PHIL/JWST 208: Gabriella Hermon This course provides the oppor- JEWISH HISTORY: ANTI- INTRODUCTION TO JEWISH Julia Oestreich tunity to study Greek, Roman, SEMITISM PHILOSOPHY Sarah Wasserman and Biblical literatures, set in TR 11:00 - 12:15 TR 3:30 - 4:45 their mythical, historical and Instructor: Polly Zavadivker, Polly Zavadivker Instructor: Rabbi Eli Gurevitz, [email protected] [email protected] cultural contexts, introducing Satisfies breadth requirement B Satisfies University multicultural appropriate critical concepts. Newsletter Satisfies University multicultural Art Direction & Design requirement requirement Heather Harwood This course examines funda- LLCU/JWST 345: MODERN Explore the changing nature of mental issues in philosophy of ISRAEL: HISTORY & anti-Jewish hatred from ancient Stay Connected religion reflecting both general CULTURE times to the present. Topics Frank and Yetta Chaiken theological approaches to TR 11:00 - 12:15 JWST 201 Lecture Series: Dr. Lila Corwin Berman Instructor: Eynat Gutman, include: anti-Jewish myths in Center for Jewish Studies resolving the tension between [email protected] ancient and medieval times, 30 W. Delaware Avenue philosophy and religion and the Many factors contribute to a modern racial antisemitism, Ho- Newark, DE 19716 uniquely Jewish attempt to do diverse and intriguing Israeli locaust denial, and anti-Zionism (302) 831-3324 so. Topics include: God, miracles, society. Topics include the roots on American college campuses www.udel.edu/jsp good and evil, divine command- of Zionism, the concept of the today. [email protected] ments and free will. Israeli Sabra, the effects of the Holocaust, ethnic groups and HIST/JWST 398: TOPICS IN MEDIEVAL HISTORY: Hebrew Language the Arab Israeli conflict, through MEDIEVAL JEWS, MUSLIMS history, film, literature and music. & CHRISTIANS HEBR/JWST 105: ELEMENTARY HEBREW MW 3:35 - 4:50 MW 1:25 - 2:15 & TR 2:00 - 2:50 Instructor: Michael Frassetto, ENGL/JWST 348: [email protected] Instuctor: Eynat Gutman, CONTEMPORARY JEWISH- [email protected] AMERICAN LITERATURE This course will explore the The University of Delaware is an Introduction to the Hebrew TR 12:30 - 1:45 relationship between Muslims, equal opportunity employer. alphabet and language, and Instructor: Sarah Wasserman, Christians, and Jews in the Mid- For the University’s complete [email protected] dle Ages. It will investigate pat- non-discrimination statement, development of basic speaking, please visit www.udel.edu/ listening, reading and writing Satisfies breadth requirement A terns of co-existence, violence, aboutus/legalnotices.html Satisfies A&S writing requirement skills. and intolerance that character- Lectures and discussions of out- ized those relationships. standing contemporary Jewish American novelists, short story writers, and others. Jewish Studies Program University of Delaware Nonprofit 30 West Delaware Avenue Organization Newark, DE 19716 U.S. Postage PAID University of Delaware

Dr. Vivian Z. Klaff Memorial Award Winners

ach spring semester, two graduating seniors are selected as Dr. my experience at the University of Delaware in a most positive way. The E Vivian Z. Klaff Memorial Award winners. This award is named for Jewish Studies minor created a space for me to explore and broaden the late Professor Emeritus of Sociology and former director of the Jew- my knowledge. Classes such as Antisemitism and American Jewish ish Studies program. The two student winners, Julie Meyer and Jessica History inspired me to attend law school in the fall and pursue a career Oestreicher, have demonstrated excellence within the Jewish Studies in Public Interest. I plan to join the long line of Jewish activists and minor during their college careers. Below, the students explain what thinkers who worked to improve the lives of Jews across the world. the Jewish Studies minor has meant to them and discuss their plans for the future. Julie Meyer I’m really thankful for the Jewish Studies Jessica Oestreicher minor because it gave me the opportunity I am a senior history major with a minor to pursue my Jewish education in college. in Jewish Studies. I have been a Resident I was able to take this even further and Assistant in the Christiana Towers for three study abroad in Tel Aviv for a semester for a years. In addition, I serve on the Office of hands-on experience. The courses gave me Student Conduct Undergraduate Appellate great insight and challenged me as a Jewish Board and as a victim advocate for Sexual thinker. After graduation, I will begin working at Hebrew Public in New Offense Support. York City. Hebrew Public is a non-profit organization that develops public charter schools all around the country that offer a dual language I place great value on learning about traditions and the various program to students from all different backgrounds, in Hebrew and experiences of the Jewish people across time and place. The Jewish English as well as an in-depth curriculum in Israeli culture. I will be Studies minor provided an opportunity for me to fulfill those interests the Manager of Philanthropic Initiative, which will involve working to and connect with Judaism in new and important ways during my achieve fundraising goals! I have always dreamed of pursuing a career time in college. Being involved with the Program also helped ease the in the non-profit sector, so I am really excited to combine my passion transition of being away from home by connecting me to a new Jewish for Israel with my Communications degree in the next chapter of my community. The feeling of kinship I found through the Program shaped life.