Background
Posen Foundation Program for the Study of Secular Jewish History and Cultures
Modernity is deeply associated with secularization: the rejection
of the supernatural and of religious institutions as well as the
construction of identities based on the natural world. Jews have often
been at the forefront of these secular movements and, despite the
persistence of religious traditions, are perhaps the most secularized
of modern peoples. Side by side with European secularization, a
distinct tradition of Jewish secularism and secular Jewish culture
arose in Europe, spreading later to the Americas and the Middle East.
Thinkers from Baruch Spinoza to Moses Mendelssohn, Heinrich Heine,
Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Theodor Herzl, Ahad Ha-Am, M.Y.
Berdichevsky and Hayim Nahman Bialik (to name but a few) charted out
alternatives to traditional Judaism. Some of these alternatives were
highly individual, while others were collective. Some focused on
metaphysical or psychological questions, while others were concerned
with politics or culture, not least the various forms of Zionism. To
understand modern Jewish identity therefore requires understanding all
of these secular alternatives, since they posited the possibility of
being Jewish without adherence to traditional religious laws and
beliefs.
The Posen Foundation’s program for the Study of Secular Jewish
History and Cultures is designed to support the development of courses
on the varieties of Jewish secularism for students in colleges and universities in North America, Israel and Europe. It is estimated that at least a half of American Jews consider
themselves secular, even if this secularism means different things to
different people. The percentage of secular Jews is even higher in
Israel. These Jews are heirs to the tradition of secular Jewish culture
reaching back more than two centuries. The courses supported by the
Program are intended to inform students about this tradition that may
be largely unknown to them, but the courses are not aimed only at
secular Jewish students: they are aimed at the student body as a whole,
Jewish and non-Jewish, who may find this secular tradition of interest
and importance in understanding pressing contemporary issues.
The Program funds the development and implementation of one or more
“core courses” in the history of secular Jewish thought and/or culture.
These courses in Jewish thought, history, sociology, anthropology, or
other related disciplines—or ideally an interdisciplinary course—examine the process of Jewish secularization over the past three
centuries or focus specifically and explicitly on the secular
traditions within modernity. The courses must be broadly conceived and
not limited to one national experience. While examples of such courses
are on this website, the Program does not dictate a single template for
these courses. On the contrary, the Program is interested in fostering
creativity in the teaching of this subject and successful applications
must demonstrate such original thinking.
In addition to the core course or courses, the Program funds
peripheral—or more specialized—courses on subjects related to the
core courses. The peripheral courses need to examine explicitly themes
of secularism and secularization, not just cover secular topics, and
applicants should demonstrate an ability to integrate these courses
over time and make them permanent. The funds may also be used for guest
lecturers or faculty seminars on subjects related to the grant.
Finally, while the grants may be used to hire a lecturer or post-doc to
teach some of the courses, the Foundation requires that academic
programs commit some of their own faculty resources to implement the
grant (the grant may be used to “buy-out” such faculty time). Click here for a sample syllabus, prepared by Professor Menachem Brinker, and bibliography in Jewish secularization for resources in developing a "core" course in the study of Jewish secularism.
Since 2003, the Foundation has funded courses at 40 universities in
North America, Israel, and Europe involving more than 100 academics and
1500 students. New initiatives are now underway for Adult Continuing Education and high school programs. The commitment the Foundation has to the study of Jewish secularism in higher education, secondary education and adult education is evident in this section.
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