News & Events

The Jewish Studies Program Has Exciting Events Throughout the Year!

We hold several special events throughout the year, including lectures, films and art exhibitions, complement and enrich Jewish studies courses. Below are descriptions of our upcoming events:

Echoes & Reflections- Free Ohio Educator Workshop

Posted May, 20, 2013

Ohio Council on Holocaust Education sponsors a FREE Ohio Educator Workshop:

 

Echoes & Reflections

Monday, June 10, 2013
9:30 am – 4:00 pm
Youngstown State University

The training will be facilitated by Sarah Weiss, Executive Director of The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education. Echoes and Reflections is the result of an unprecedented partnership among three leaders in education: the Anti- Defamation League, the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, and Yad Vashem. This resource includes everything teachers need to teach the complex issues of the Holocaust and its lessons for today.

The Workshop Includes:

• Training and a FREE copy of the Echoes and Reflections Multimedia Curriculum
• Access to lesson plans, primary sources, handouts, pictures, video testimonies, and more
• Presentations by Dr. Helene Sinnreich and a Holocaust Survivor

Full Day Workshop (Includes Lunch)  Space is limited, registration deadline is June 2.
To register, please contact Sarah Weiss at 513-487-3055 or sweiss@holocaustandhumanity.org.
In partnership with The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education

Grand Opening of Thomases Family Endowment Art Gallery

Posted May, 3, 2013

The Jewish Community Center invites you to the

Grand Opening

of the Thomases Family Endowment of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation Art Gallery and

Wine & Cheese Reception

Thursday, May 9th 6:30pm

505 Gypsy Ln., Youngstown

RSVP- 330-746-3250 ext. 108

Bio

David LaBelle is a photographer, editor, teacher, and author. He has worked for 20 newspapers and magazines, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where he was assistant managing editor for photography. LaBelle directs the photojournalism program at Kent State University and has taught at Western Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky. In 1991, the National Press Photographers Association honored LaBelle with the Robin F. Garland Award for photojournalism education. LaBelle has written four books, including “The Great Picture Hunt.†Israel’s diverse people and cultures fascinate LaBelle. He created a traveling exhibit of images from the country after a 2012 trip with students from Kent State University.

Special Thanks to: ZOA of Youngstown, Thomases Family Endowment Fund, The Jewish Studies Program at Kent State

Announcing Israel 2014- May Intercession (May 18-30)

Posted Apr, 29, 2013

Choose from:

Comparative Religious Thought II

PHIL 21021, 3 credit hours
Humanities CORE, Global Diversity Course

Introduction to Jewish Studies

AS 22001, 3 credit hours
Jewish Studies minor requirement

On this trip, students will visit many historic and religious sites studied in the courses.  You can participate in this program even if you are in Israel with birthright or another program.

Contact: 

Prof. David Odell-Scott (Ph.D.), Coordinator Religion Studies, 330-672-2315, dodellsc@kent.edu

Prof. Chaya Kessler, Director Jewish Studies, 330-672-8926, ckessle7@kent.edu

Students Visit the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage Exhibit "Spots of Light: To be a Woman in the Holocaust"

Posted Apr, 29, 2013

(From Left to Right)
Back Row: Chaya Kessler, Sarah Martin, Tali Merdler, Cecily Mullins, Ranen Reichstein, Julia St. John, Jeff Long, Eric Ritenour, Sol Factor
Front Row: Traci Hoffman, Emily Fullerton, Erica Itzkowitz
Not in picture: Nicholas Hall, Hannah Servedio

Students of the Elementary Hebrew II class and the Intro. to Jewish Studies class visited the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage Exhibit “Spots of Light: To be a Woman in the Holocaust.†Direct from Yad Vashem in Jerusalem- The first International exhibition to focus exclusively on women and their experience in the Holocaust. In addition, they also visited the permanent exhibition An American Story and the Temple- Tifereth Israel Gallery.

Primo Levi and the Holocaust- This Side of Good and Evil

Posted Apr, 2, 2013

Free and open to ALL

Tuesday, April 9th 11am-12pm

Room 117 Business Administration Building

Join Professor Kristin Stasiowski for an introduction to Primo Levi, an Italian Jewish chemist & author.  Professor Stasiowski will discuss Primo Levi’s well-known memoir of survival in Auschwitz, If This is a Man, and lead discussion in response to one of the central ideas of the book: human dignity.

 

sponsored by the Department of Modern and Classical Languages

Holocaust Films

Posted Mar, 21, 2013

The Jewish Studies program and the Department of History present the following films about the Holocaust:

La Rafle

Tuesday April 2, 7:00-9:00PM
Michael Schwartz room 177

The film portrays the few weeks in July 1942, when more than 13,000 Parisian Jews, including more than 4,000 children, were rounded up and taken to the now notorious Vel' d'Hiv stadium.

A Day in October

Thursday April 4, 7:00-9:00PM
Michael Schwartz room 177

A fictional story of Danish rescue of Jews that chronicles the courage of a young Jewish woman who risks her life and that of her family by concealing a wounded resistance fighter in their home in 1943 just prior to the Nazi invasion of Denmark.

Free and open to all.

Children During the Holocaust: What They Did to Survive

Posted Mar, 6, 2013

Lunch & Learn with Sol Factor, Adjunct Instructor in the Dept. of History at Kent State. 

Mr. Sol Factor, himself a child survivor, will discuss the many roles children played during the Holocaust in their efforts to survive the unthinkable reality of the time.

Thurs, March 14 2013
12:00-1:00PM

Bowman room 110

Free and open to all, Pizza and Dessert will be provided.

 

Congrats to Ciera Greene, Aref Jadallah, and Evan Gildenblatt

Posted Mar, 6, 2013

Jewish Studies Program congratulates Ciera Greene and Evan Gildenblatt who graduated with a minor in Jewish Studies and Aref Jadallah who completed his minor in Jewish Studies. Evan also received the Melton Scholarship.  We are very proud of you.

“When I first heard about the Jewish Studies minor, I had no idea the opportunities I would have as I went through my college career. Throughout my time as a Jewish Studies minor, I had earned a scholarship and was able to travel to Israel. Some of the requirements in the minor are to take a few history classes about Judaism and how it has progressed over its lifetime. The classes I have taken with the minor have opened up my eyes more about the religion and I understand it better than what I did. I am so glad I was able to pick up this minor and I encourage all to pick it up as well. You will learn so much from it!â€

~Ciera Greene

“In the fall of 2012 I finished up the coursework for my Jewish Studies minor at Kent State University. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Jewish Studies program for not only allowing me to take advantage of the Samuel Melton Foundation scholarship each semester, but also for allowing me to diversify my world view and achieve a new understanding of Jewish history, life, and culture. The courses that I have taken in pursuing my minor have proven to be some of the most interesting and eye opening courses that I have taken in my time at Kent State; and with extremely knowledgeable and approachable instructors, the courses were as enjoyable as they were insightful. I would strongly recommend that any student at Kent State University minor in Jewish Studies!â€

~Aref Jadallah

 

By allowing me to pursue my interest in the field of Jewish studies, the Melton Scholarship enabled me to experience all that the KSU Jewish Studies Program has to offer. The unique combination of history, religious studies, language, philosophy, and politics will help to continue a storied legacy of Jewish learning, and I feel that Samuel Melton would be proud of our program.

~Evan Gildenblatt