UCLA Hosts 5th Annual Posen Conference for the Study of Jewish Secularisms
LOS
ANGELES, March 25, 2009—The 5th annual Posen Conference, the academic
conference of professors involved with the research and teaching of
Jewish secularization, was “without a doubt, our strongest conference
to date,” said Felix Posen, chair of the Posen Foundation.
The
conference, held on March 15th-16th at the UCLA Center for Jewish
Studies, convened thirty-five professors from various disciplines, all
representing institutions involved with the North American region of
the Posen Project – the eight-year-old grant program supporting Jewish
Studies departments programs in North America, Israel and Europe. The
busy agenda for the Conference included academic papers and discussions
on philosophy, methodology, pedagogy, and how the study of Jewish
secularisms and secularization is expanding the field of Jewish Studies.
“The
group of scholars involved in this project are some of the most
renowned in the field of Jewish Studies,” said Dr. Andrea Lieber, who
holds the Sophia Ava Asbell Chair of Judaic Studies at Dickinson
College. “It’s an incredible privilege to get to learn from one another
in a seminar format.” Dr. Lieber also serves on the Posen Foundation
Academic Advisory Committee, which reviews annual grant applications
and selects Posen Foundation grant recipients.
The conference
was presented by the Center for Cultural Judaism and the Posen
Foundation, which provides the Posen Grants for the study of secular
Jewish history and cultures. Posen Grants are awarded annually to
institutions of higher education; since 2001, more than forty colleges
and universities in North America, Israel, and Europe have received
Posen Grants and developed “core” courses in the study of Jewish
secularism and secularization.
Those courses include “Theories
of Secularization,” taught at Harvard University; “Secular Jewish
Thinkers,” taught at UC–Davis; and “Secular Judaism from Spinoza to
Seinfeld,” offered at Dickinson University. Additionally, 60 junior or
high schools in Israel now offer courses in Judaism as Culture. And
UCLA this year began recording podcasts of its “core” course in Jewish
secularization, which, for the first time, is available through iTunes.
“We
are using everyday technology to expand our reach,” said Dr. David
Myers, director of the UCLA Center for Jewish Studies. Students have
used the podcasts to review material or make up a missed class, he
said. “Some even report sharing the experience of watching with friends
and family.”
As for the Conference, Dr. Myers said, it is
“valuable by bringing together excellent colleagues from around the
country to share ideas, approaches, and perspectives on secular Jewish
culture.
“Those who attend the gathering,” Dr. Myers went on,
“leave with new energy and thoughts about how to teach this important
subject.”
The scholarly emphasis on secularization comes at a
fortuitous time, as recent studies, including the 2001 American Jewish
Identity Survey, show that almost half of American Jews see themselves
as "secular" or "somewhat secular." Information will soon be extracted
from another important study—the 2008 American Religious Identity
Survey (ARIS), released on March 9th–-to shed further light on the
population of secular American Jews. ARIS 2008 shows a dramatic
increase overall in secularity among the American population (from 8.2
percent in 1990, to 14.2 percent in 2001, to 15 percent in 2008). The
subset of the Jewish population will be released in the coming months.
More information on ARIS 2008, is available at http://www.americanreligionsurvey-aris.org/
“This
underscores the need for innovative courses on the secularization of
Jewish life and thought,” said Mr. Posen. “It also spotlights the need
for new approaches to the subject.
“The core courses are
unique,” Mr. Posen continued. “Unlike other Jewish Studies courses,
which may touch on Jewish secularization, the ‘core’ courses treat
Jewish secularization as its own discrete subject, and devote an entire
quarter, semester, or year to its understanding.”
At this
year’s Conference—the largest since the first Conference, in 2005—a
crowded slate of papers and presentations focused on historically
significant secular Jews, Jewish philosophers, modern trends in secular
Jewish identity, and reflections on how the Posen Project has evolved.
Discussion
also focused on the important details of pedagogy: strategies for
conveying the full sweep of Jewish secularization in the classroom.
“The
primary value of the conference,” said Dr. Lieber, “is to have
sustained time together where we can learn about the different ongoing
projects, how people are using their funds, what kinds of courses are
working, what kind of innovative projects are being done.”
Institutions
in North America that have been involved with the Posen Project include
Bard College, Binghamton University, Brown University, Dickinson
College, Goucher College, Graduate Theological Union, Hampshire
College, Harvard University, Hunter College, Lehigh University, Miami
University of Ohio, Muhlenberg College, Queens College, Rice
University, Rutgers University, Temple University, Tulane University,
University of California-Davis, UCLA, University of Cincinnati,
University of Denver, University of Florida, University of Kansas,
University of Massachusetts-Amherst, University of Michigan, University
of Texas-Austin, University of Toronto, and University of Virginia.
The next round of grant recipients will be announced shortly.
The
Posen Project grants and the Posen conference are administered by the
Center for Cultural Judaism, which was established in 2003 in response
to emerging new insights into American Jewish demography that confirm
that the majority of Jews are secular. The Center for Cultural Judaism
supports educational programs on behalf of this large, underserved
population in North America. Information on the Posen Project and
syllabi of courses underway are available online at
www.posenfoundation.com
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