2003 Shirenu

The Sizeler Family Chair in Judaic Studies
We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Brian Horowitz has been chosen as the Sizeler Family Chair in Judaic Studies. Readers of Shirenu will no doubt remember that this chair was established by a generous donation from Mr. Sidney W. Lassen. The Sizeler Chair will also take over duties as the new Director of the Jewish Studies this coming academic year.
Dr. Horowitz is coming to Tulane from the University of Nebraska, where he recently won a distinguished teaching award, several prestigious grants, including the Alexander Von Humboldt Fellowship, a Fulbright Grant, and the Yad Hanadiv Fellowship. Dr. Horowitz is a native New Yorker who “grew up in Roslyn in a family of Zionists.” (See more from Dr. Horowitz in his letter below.)
Dr. Horowitz received his B.A. at New York University in Slavic Languages and Literature and his Ph.D. from Berkeley in the same field. His fist book is The Myth of Alexander Pushkin in Russia’s Silver Age. He has also edited “God’s Mistake”: Russian-Jewish Fiction, 1880-1930. He has published over 20 articles and countless reviews and lectures. Dr. Horowitz’s forthcoming (2003) book is Cultural Autonomy and Diaspora Identity: A Cultural History of the OPE (the Society for the Promotion of Enlightenment among the Jews of Russia).

 

Letter from the New Director
I want to let everyone at Tulane, our alumni, and supporters in the community know how thrilled I am to become the new director of the Jewish Studies Program and occupy the Sizeler Family Chair in Judaic Studies. This coming year will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary year of our program and a quarter century of accomplishment. Now that we have a serious track record, we can take a moment to look back at our past and forward to our future. I want to express gratitude to the program’s faculty and staff, especially the individuals who started, developed, and expanded Jewish Studies at Tulane: Joe Cohen who first gave life to the program, David and Shanni Goldstein who have worked so hard on its behalf, Chris Brady who has done an absolutely amazing job keeping the program visible and intellectual, all our past visiting Assistant Professors, especially our current visitor Dr. Yona Shapira, and Marilyn Reine who does so much to make the program run smoothly.
Where do we want to go from here? Clearly we want to expand. We want to increase our course offerings and expand our services to students and to the community. We want to share in the intellectual life of Jewish New Orleans and participate in the excitement happening on campus. We want to reach out to our alumni, friends, and supporters, and not just meet their needs, but anticipate them. We want to move forward by creating exciting programs, courses, and events that enrich Jewish life in all its aspects and show that Jewish civilization is dynamic and fully present in our lives. Clearly these are tasks not just for one person, but tasks of the entire community. I call upon everyone to become involved in our collective work.
Brian Horowitz, Ph.D.

 

Report from the Previous Director
Once again I write to you during a time of global conflict and anxiety. Officially the United States has ceased hostile action in Iraq, but the country is far from stable. This past week we have witnessed several new attacks in Israel and as I write this our “Threat Level” is once again at “Red.” I pray that by the time you receive this letter peace will have begun to settle upon the region and our world. In spite of, and in some ways because of, the current crisis this year our students have been very engaged in the life of Jewish Studies. Courses offered in Jewish Studies and related fields were once again fully enrolled. Students were able to take courses in everything from “Second Temple Judaism” to “The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Culture and Literature” (an extremely popular new course taught by our Visiting Assistant Professor, Dr. Yona Shapira). Over 20 different courses were offered this past year in Jewish Students in addition to our offerings in Modern Hebrew.

Academic Activities
In addition to our usual course offerings the Jewish Studies program was proud to sponsor and co-sponsor a number of events this year. Our first guest lecturer was Dr. Herman Freudenberger, Professor Emeritus in Economics at Tulane University. The title of Dr. Fruedenberger’s talk was “Economic History of Jews in Germany and Austria in the Nineteenth Century: Prologue to the Holocaust?” Dr Freudenberger spoke from his personal and professional experience about the economic history of German and Austrian Jews during the nineteenth century, the time of their emancipation and their sudden rise to prominence, and its ramifications for the German-Austrian-Jewish relations in the early twentieth century.

This past spring I was very proud to host my supervisor from Cornell University, Dr. Gary Rendsburg. Dr. Rendsburg, the Paul and Berthe Hendrix Memorial Professor of Jewish Studies at Cornell, gave a lecture on “Women in the Bible” that was very well attended. Shortly after his lecture at Tulane Dr. Rendsburg’s article was published by Bible Review and is available online (http://www.bib-arch.org/bswb_BR/bswbbr1901feat1.html). If you were unable to make his talk, I encourage you to read this very interesting piece.

The Jewish Studies Program also co-sponsored several talks. The Literature Program and Jewish Studies sponsored Dr. Ruth Tsoffar of the University of Michigan as part of the Literatures Mediating Conflicts Lecture Series. Dr. Tsoffar’s talk was “Cannibal Ideology: Ethnicity and Gender in Israeli Literature.” In conjunction with the Duren Professorship Program of Tulane College we sponsored a lecture entitled, “Terrorism: Will Civilization Survive?” The speaker was Dr. Yonah Alexander, Director of The International Center for Terrorism Studies.

Finally, the Jewish Studies program also co-sponsored a lecture by Daniel Levitas, author of The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement and the Radical Right. This function was in conjunction with the Tulane-Xavier National Center for Urban Community.

Looking Back
Over the last five years I have had the great privilege of overseeing the growth and development of the Jewish Studies Program at Tulane. In this time we have seen the number of students taking our courses increase, we have added many new courses to our curriculum, and we have brought in a wide variety of talented and world-class scholars and speakers. The support from you has also been tremendous. Donations to the program have been generously given and gratefully received. This year we have seen the fulfillment of our largest gift as Dr. Brian Horowitz was hired as our new Sizeler Family Chair in Judaic Studies. Dr. Horowitz will now begin directing the program and I have every confidence in his abilities. Indeed, we have already begun planning for the coming year and the events described below are largely due to his diligence. Dr. Yona Shapira will continue to teach in the program as well. So as we go into the program’s 25th year I look forward to wonderful things. The size of our faculty is increasing, more students are majoring and minoring in Jewish Studies than ever before, and the community continues to support the work of the program.
So where does that leave me? Right where I am, more or less. This year I was granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor. I was also asked by the Provost of the University to become the new Associate Director of the Honors Program. I have accepted the offer and will begin this new administrative position in July. But I will not leave my first love! I will continue to teach courses in our program and help Dr. Horowitz in any way that he sees fit. Finally, let me thank you for the support that you have all shown the program and me. Much of the work in the program is accomplished by our faculty and staff. We rely heavily on the efforts of our adjunct faculty, all of whom maintain the high academic standards of Tulane University. In addition, David Goldstein’s support as Associate Director and friend has been invaluable. Ms. Marilyn Reine, the Jewish Studies secretary, continues to keep things running smoothly and on time (often in spite of me!). Thank you all. The Jewish Studies program, past, present, and future, is a wonderful family and I am proud to be a part of it.
Chris M. M. Brady, D.Phil.
Previous Director

Dr. L. Joseph Cahn Library
The Cahn Library continues to grow. Of particular note this year were the archival donations of Mrs. Jeanette Stone and Mr. Russell G. Feran. They donated material documenting the activities of our region’s B’nai B’rith. This material will now be housed in the Southern Jewish Archives, part of the Special Collections of Tulane University’s Howard Tilton Memorial Library. We continue to build our holdings and appreciate any donations that you might like to make to the Cahn Library.

Jewish Studies Awards
This year’s Ephraim Lisitzky award goes to Ms. Rebecca Carl. This award was established 1989 and is granted to a student of exceptional achievement in the study of Hebrew language, Jewish history, culture, and religion. Ms. Carl is an exceptional student, committed to Jewish learning. She will continue her studies at the H.L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Her first year of studies will be spent in Jerusalem.
Mr. Jonah Levine is our fifth recipient of the Dr. Lawrence J. Kanter and Julie Kanter Annual Award in Jewish Studies. Dr. Kanter established this award in honor of his daughter, Julie Kanter, who graduated from Newcomb College in 1998. Throughout his career at Tulane Mr. Levine exhibited the true interdisciplinary nature of Jewish Studies by taking courses in all periods (ancient, medieval, and modern), regions (Europe, America, Israel), and disciplines (history, literature, and political science). We wish Rebecca and Jonah all the best!

Events for 2003-2004
Some of the lectures (tentatively) scheduled for this coming academic year. Mailings will be sent out to the local community with dates and times of the lectures as they are finalized. If you live outside the New Orleans area and would like to be added to this mailing list please let us know!

John Klier (U. College London),
“Hello to Hate: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion"
Avram Greenbaum (Haifa Univeristy)
"The Rabbinate Under Soviet Rule"
Rabbi Johanon Rivkin (Chabad-Lubavitch of Lousiana, New Orleans)
“What is the Talmud?”
Michael Kaczinsky (Department of English, Tulane University)
“Christian Readers of the Jewish Bible in Early-Modern England”
Pamela Barmash (Washington University, St. Louis)
“The Murders of Our Fathers: Killing in the Bible”

 

25 Years and Growing!
Your Continued Support is Needed
Each year at Tulane brings more joys and challenges. The Jewish Studies program is steadily growing and the Shirenu community has been with us and supported us in every endeavor. This academic year marks our 25th anniversary. This program exists because of your support and we would like to hear your memories of the past and hopes for the future. If you have any pictures or stories from the last 25 years please send them along so that we can share them with others on our website. We are also always happy to hear your thoughts and suggestions for the future. Most of all, thank you. You are the friends and supporters of Jewish Studies at Tulane. Your generosity allows us to continually improve our course offerings and further enhance the Tulane experience for our students. Thank you! With your continued support the Jewish Studies Program at Tulane will soon become a premier center for Jewish learning in the Southeast.