Posen Foundation Education Project
Designed for middle school and high school teachers, the Posen Foundation Education Project offers seminars that emphasize the history, cultures, and literature of the Jewish people.
This rich subject acts as a springboard for important questions about Jews and other minorities, and the roles they play in our schools, our society, and in the lives of our students. The seminars draw on themes relevant to a variety of disciplines, including identity, immigration, culture, adaptation, and diversity. Teachers will also encounter new and dynamic ways of working with primary documents, films, images, and poetry.
For more information, or to apply to attend a seminar, please contact Jessica Evans, Co-Director of the Center for Cultural Judaism, at (212) 564-6711, x303 or by email.
Now online - download our digital brochure!
2011-2012 Seminars
The Posen Foundation is pleased to announce our series of seminars for the 2011-12 academic year:
Not Quite Kosher: Secular Jewish Writers from Kafka to Chabon
February 26-27, 2012, Miami, FL: A two-day seminar on the subject of contemporary Jewish writers. (the deadline for applications has now passed)
Before Night: East European Jewish Life at the Dawn of the 20th Century
May 13-14, 2012, New York, NY: A two-day seminar on the subject of Eastern European Jewish life and history.(application deadline: March 26, 2012)
"To Bigotry No Sanction": American Society and Jewish Culture
July 8-13, 2012, Santa Barbara, CA: A six-day seminar on the subject of Jewish culture and American society.
(application deadline: May 7, 2012)
Click Here to Apply
________________________________________________________________________________
Past Seminars offered by the Posen Foundation Education Project
The Origins and Development of Jewish Secularism
May 15-16, 2011
New York, NY
The Posen Foundation invited nineteen teachers from a competitive applicant pool to attend the 2011 May seminar, “The Origins and Development of Jewish Secularism,” held at Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, in New York City. In two intensive days of study, participants explored the emergence of Jewish secularism in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Led by Dr. Mark A. Raider (University of Cincinnati), Dr. Robert Seltzer (Hunter College), and Dr. Allan Arkush (Binghamton University), teachers investigated themes of enlightenment and emancipation; citizenship and belonging; and identity and culture. Using an interdisciplinary array of teaching materials, including primary texts, artwork, secondary literature, and music, Posen Seminar participants discovered a wealth of important resources, and worked collaboratively to reflect on ways to bring the rich history and culture of Jewish secularism into their classrooms.
The Latin American Jewish Experience
February 6-7, 2011
Miami, FL
The Posen Seminar in Miami, “The Latin American Jewish Experience,” brought together twenty-one teachers from across the country to explore the unique cultural and historical aspects of Latin American Jewish life, both past and present. The Jews of Latin America, as well as those who have immigrated to the United States, have established secular traditions that have been synthesized with aspects of Hispanic culture. With the leadership of faculty members Dr. Mark A. Raider (University of Cincinnati), Dr. Andrea Lieber (Dickinson College), and Dr. Oren Stier (Florida International University), educators explored a wealth of teaching resources—primary texts, secondary texts, images, and film. The seminar was hosted by the University of Miami’s School of Education and Florida International University, and participants enjoyed an evening program at the Jewish Museum of Florida.
________________________________________________________________________________
Posen Foundation Education Initiatives in Israel
In Israel, the Posen Foundation has developed several innovative programs to bring the study of Jewish culture to middle school and high school educators.
The Ofakim Program for the Study of Judaism as Culture, located at Tel Aviv University, is a three-year program that trains exceptional students to teach Judaism as Culture in Israeli state schools. In addition to their Jewish culture studies, students learn Jewish philosophy, Hebrew culture, and one other subject from the department, and participate in a special program to obtain a teaching credential. Upon graduating, students receive a B.A. and a teacher’s certificate. The program grants its participants full tuition plus a stipend. In exchange, the students commit to both teaching Judaism as Culture in the state education system for at least three years, and performing community service during their studies. The Ofakim Program was initiated in 2004.
Tarbut Am Olam, Hebrew for “Culture, Nation, and World,” is a collaboration between the Posen Foundation and Israel’s Ministry of Education that brings formal and extra-curricular studies in the subject of “Judaism as Culture” to two Israeli school districts. The program began in the 2007-2008 school year in Rishon Le’Zion and has expanded to the city of Kfar Saba. Each year, hundreds of 8th and 10th grade students in the program explore the richness and pluralism within Jewish culture while considering their own Jewish identity. Teachers in these school districts participate in intensive training sessions to prepare to share this unique program.
|
