March 2024 Newsletter

Jewish Studies February Recap

Today, the war between Israel and Hamas has lasted 164 days. In each newsletter we have recognized and will continue to recognize the impact this has on our campus community and the mental health of our students and faculty members. We continue to encourage you to utilize the resources provided by KU should you need mental health support. Please remember CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services) provides 24-hour care. If you need immediate assistance or know someone who is in crisis you can call or text 988 and be connected to emergency mental health support. Every student, staff, and faculty member deserves to feel safe and welcome here at KU. The Office of Civil Rights and Title IX has requested that you contact the office should you experience any form of discrimination, microaggression, or act of antisemitism. In addition, Jewish Studies will continue to provide safe and confidential listening spaces for those who are in need. We are here for you.

What's Happening in Jewish Studies?

We hope you had a relaxing and safe Spring Break and you are ready for the last few weeks of the semester! Stop Day is May 3rd and the Jewish Studies graduation celebration is May 10th. Stay tuned for more information!

Enrollment in Fall 2024 classes begins on March 29th. Do you have questions about your Fall schedule? Wondering what classes to take? Check out what's being offered here. If you have questions about scheduling for Fall please contact JD Smith, Jewish Studies Academic Advisor or Dr. Rami Zeedan, Jewish Studies Undergraduate Director.

We are thrilled to share some exciting news regarding upcoming changes to the Hebrew language program. We will continue to offer beginning, intermediate, advanced, and independent study, in addition to a new topics course taught by Shelley Rissien called Hebrew in Song: Israeli Pop Music (HEBR 300). This course will be open to students who have completed intermediate Hebrew (HEBR 220 or above) or have demonstrated proficiency through the placement exam. Due to the introduction of this new course, enrollment in independent study will be limited. We strongly encourage advanced Hebrew students to enroll in HEBR 300 before enrolling in HEBR 490. In addition, we are delighted to announce we will be expanding our pool of expertise by hiring an additional Hebrew instructor who will teach advanced Hebrew in the Fall 2024 semester. Furthermore, we are exploring the possibility of granting retroactive credit for students' prior Hebrew studies (before enrolling at KU) based on their performance in the placement exam. Details regarding this initiative will be communicated by the end of the Spring 2024 semester.

We are committed to continually enhance our programming and our Hebrew and Jewish studies course offerings, to enrich your educational experience within the Jewish Studies Program. We value your feedback and welcome any suggestions for further improvement. If you have yet to declare a major or minor in Jewish Studies, please don't hesitate to reach out to us to discuss your educational aspirations.

Are you a work-study student who would like to assist with Jewish Studies events and marketing? We would like to talk to you! Jewish Studies will be hiring a student hourly in the Fall and the position will open to applicants on July 15th with a start date of August 26th. If you have any questions, please email Tyra (tkalman@ku.edu) or stop by the office in 4017B.

Events: Engaging with our Community

We have back to back events wrapping up the end of March and the Purim with Professionals is specifically for you! On March 25th Jewish Studies will host Dr. Shelly Cline of the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, Sam Kricsfeld and Lacey Storer, Editor and Assistant Editor of the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle, Noa Savir, Manager of Jewish Student Engagement at KU Hillel, and Roman Ruiz from the KU Career Center to share internship and service learning opportunities. All Jewish Studies and Hebrew students are encouraged to attend. We will have iced coffee, bagels from Einstein Bros., and hammantashen from KI synagogue from 9:30-11:30AM in the Jewish Studies suite (4017 Wescoe).

Have you heard of Avodah? Avodah "develops lifelong social justice leaders whose work is informed by Jewish values and who inspire the Jewish community to work toward a more just and equitable world". This amazing organization is currently offering fellowships in the Kansas City metro area. Visit their website to learn more!

Want to improve your Hebrew? Join the Hillel Hebrew Round Table with Noa Savir. Beginners should stop by Hillel on Fridays at 4PM, those who have some conversation and would like more practice, stop by Tuesdays at 12:30PM or Wednesdays at 10AM.

We have partnered with our campus community and the Lawrence community to host multiple speakers. Take a look at what's coming this month and next and mark your calendars!

• March 20th, 2:30-4PM join us for a virtual educational training session titled Interrupting Antisemitism and Building Inclusive Communities featuring Jonah Boyarin. This training is sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging and is open to the campus community. To register for this training, click here.
• March 20th, 7-8:30PM: Dr. Omri Senderowicz will speak on his ethnographic research on how the kibbutz were impacted in the transition from socialism to neoliberalism at the end of the 20th century. This talk will be held at the LJCC. For more information and to register for the event visit the LJCC website here.
• March 21st, 4PM in the Centennial Room of the Kansas Union: Dr. Birgit Hebel-Bauridl of the University of Regensburg will present Memory, Participation, Resistance: The Flossenbürg Concentration Camp Memorial and Museum.
• March 26th, 5PM at the Max Kade Center for German-American Studies: Dr. Hebel-Bauridl will present This sophisticated hell of murder and misery: My Grandfather’s Journey from National Socialist Camps to Postwar Ostracism and Oblivion. These talks are sponsored by: The Leibniz Science Campus "Europe and America in the Modern World" (University of Regensburg and the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies), Max Kade Center for German American Studies, the Department of Slavic, German, and Eurasian Studies, the Department of History, the Jewish Studies Program, & the Center for Global and International Studies.
• March 27th, 5:30-7PM, Pine room of the Kansas Union: Dr. Sasha Senderovich will present How the Soviet Jew Was Made.
• April 16th and 17th Dr. Avi Shilon will visit Jewish Studies students and their classes and speak at the LJCC. He will present Israel at War: October 7th and the War in Gaza in Historical Perspective from 7-8:30PM, April 17th at the LJCC.

The keystone event in Jewish Studies this Spring is the Jews in the Americas conference. This bilingual and hybrid conference will take place April 18th and 19th on the KU campus. The event includes an evening reception on April 18th at the Spencer Museum of Art. The reception will feature musical guests The Bigs and include a curated exhibit of Jewish art. This reception is open to all KU students and we hope you will attend the conference and the reception. As part of the conference, KU Hillel will host a pop-up exhibit documenting the lives of Kansas Jews. This exhibit will be on display from April 15th-19th. Please visit the Jews in the Americas website to learn more.

Spring Fellowships

Thanks to the Danciger Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City, we are proud to announce that awards are available for those who participate in the Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium through the Center for Undergraduate Research. KU's Undergraduate Research Symposium is held each spring to provide a venue for students to share the results of their research and creative projects with the campus community. The deadline to register for the 2024 Online Undergraduate Research Symposium is 11:59PM on Sunday, April 7th, 2024. For more information please visit the Center for Undergraduate Research.

Please note that funding opportunities are available through need-based fellowships for all Jewish Studies majors and minors thanks to the continued support of the Danciger Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City. These opportunities provide valuable support to students facing economic hardship. The application process is easy and confidential. To be considered for funding, please send a brief email to jewishstudies@ku.edu stating that you are experiencing need, and the amount that would help alleviate your financial roadblocks. Economic hardship can result in undue stress, which can infringe upon your learning experience. We want to help you achieve success, so please do not hesitate to ask for help.