One of Carolina’s unique academic strengths is its expertise in the history of the Jewish South, and how, over time, Jewish southerners have blended their regional southern identities with their religious and cultural identities. Professor Marcie Cohen Ferris offers a compelling, and very popular, course to Carolina students who want to learn more about “the braided identity” of Jewish Southerners. Read More.
T. Fielder Valone, Jr., a History and American Studies major, is the first recipient of the Elsie Kaplan “Mother Shapiro” ZBT Undergraduate Research and Travel grant in Jewish Studies. He used the funding to help cover expenses for a month-long research trip in New York City this past July. There, he averaged six hours a day examining eyewitness testimonies of Lithuanian-Jewish survivors of genocide, collected immediately after World War II and now archived at YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. Read More
The Carolina Center for Jewish Studies in UNC’s
College of Arts and Sciences gratefully thanks the
donors who have supported its students, faculty, and
programs during the University’s most recent fiscal
year, which ran from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010. Generous gifts to the Center in recent
months will provide ongoing, crucial
discretionary support for Jewish
Studies. Recent gifts to the fund were made by
Gary J. Kaminsky and Lori Kaminsky,
who created the Gary J. and Lori
Kaminsky Endowment Fund for
Jewish Studies, and Jeffrey A. Gorelick
and Bari L. Gorelick, who formed The
Jeffrey A. and Bari L. Gorelick Fund
for Excellence in Jewish Studies.
DIANA BLOOM, ’11, a German
Language and Literature major,
received a grant from the German
Academic Exchange Service to
conduct research on Jewish-
Gentile relations in the Frankfurter
Judengasse, the Frankfurt Jewish
ghetto, during the Fettmilch
uprising.
STEVEN WERLIN, who is completing
his Ph.D. in Religious Studies, was
awarded the 2010 Hershel Shanks
Prize from the Biblical Archaeology
Society. The award is given based on
his academic paper entitled “Appetite
for Destruction? The Archaeological
Evidence for Jewish Iconoclasm.”
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Jonathan Boyarin, who joined Carolina’s Department of Religious Studies in 2007 as the Leonard and Tobee Kaplan Distinguished Professor of Modern Jewish Thought, has been appointed associate director for the Center. He will work with Jonathan Hess on long-range planning for the Center, curriculum development, fund raising and public outreach. Professor Boyarin has been very active on behalf of the Center since coming to Carolina, including creating and teaching the new core course, Introduction to Jewish Studies, leading and participating in several seminars and events for the general public, and serving as faculty advisor to graduate students working in the field of Jewish Studies. Boyarin, an anthropologist and lawyer, has served as visiting professor at Wesleyan University and Dartmouth College and came to Carolina from the University of Kansas, where he was distinguished professor of Modern Jewish Studies. Boyarin received a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1998, after receiving his Ph.D. in Anthropology at the New School for Social Research in New York in 1984. His research and writing combine his backgrounds in anthropology and Yiddish culture and he the author, coauthor, or editor of a dozen books. His latest book, The Unconverted Self, was published in 2009.
Hebrew Bible Through the Ages
For Professor David Lambert, studying the Hebrew Bible
means much more than simply reading the ancient text. He
extends his study to explore how the Bible is interpreted
through the ages, and how different cultural assumptions alter how people approach the Bible. Read More
Van der Horst Professorship Flora Cassen will join Carolina’s History
department next academic year as the
JMA and Sonja Van der Horst Fellow
in Jewish History and Culture. Her research focus is Medieval
and Early Modern Jewish History. The JMA and Sonja van der Horst
Distinguished Professorship was
established by the children of the late
Johannes and Sonja van der Horst
with
reparation funds that were awarded to
their mother.
Events for 2010-2011
The Center has announced its public event series for the new academic year.
Advisory Board Members Four members of the Center’s
Advisory Board have rotated off the
board after serving terms since 2002:
Barry Schochet, Harvey Colchamiro,
Jay Schwartz and Gary Kaminsky. Joining the
Advisory Board this year are Rhonda
Silver of New Jersey, Lori B. Wittlin
of Washington, D.C. and Gary J.
Kaminsky of New York (no relation to the other Gary Kaminsky).
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Levin
Family Creates New Endowment
for Jewish
Studies Faculty
Seymour M. Levin, ’48 and Carol Cole
Levin of Greensboro, N.C., have recently
expanded their support of the Center by
establishing a new faculty endowed chair
in Jewish Studies. Read more....
Faculty Research Advances the Field of Jewish Studies
The research efforts of the
Center’s faculty benefit scholars
worldwide and advance the field of
Jewish Studies. They also enhance teaching efforts at Carolina,
expose graduate students and
undergraduates to new intellectual
ideas, and position the university
as a major center for Jewish Studies. Read more....
Graduate Student Profile:
Joseph Gindi
Working with Professor Jonathan Boyarin, Gindi’s scholarly focus is on American
Judaism and Jewish culture. Read more...
Faculty Course Development Awards Several faculty members were
awarded course development grants to
create new Jewish Studies courses or
add Jewish Studies content into existing
courses in the College of Arts and
Sciences. The awards also will allow
the university to add Jewish Studies
courses to meet student demand.
Undergraduate Research Awards T. Fielder Valone, Jr., class of 2011, is
the first recipient of the Elsie Kaplan “Mother” Shapiro ZBT Undergraduate
Research and Travel grant in Jewish
Studies and Joseph “Trey” Meeks, class of 2010, received an undergraduate research
award from the Carolina Center for Jewish
Studies and the Department of Religious
Studies.
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Donors Make Events Possible
Through the years, more than 60 events such as public lectures, concerts,
film viewings, academic seminars, lunchtime discussions,
and two-day workshops have enriched the student
experience and enlightened and entertained the general
public. And they were all made possible through private support. Read more....
Student Profile: Josh Thompson, '10
Language requirement opens doors
to unique experiences for
medical school hopeful. Read more....
Donor Profile:
Sandra & Stephen Rich, '64
Traffic Light Changes Future for Couple, and Carolina. Read more....
Advisory Board: The Center
welcomes several new members
of the Advisory Board: Jonathan
Fassberg ’88, JoAnn Pizer-Fox,
Toby Osofsky ’03, Marion Robboy,
and Peter W. Schneider ’78, G’81.
Facebook: The Center is now
on Facebook: 
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Evyatar Marienberg Joins Faculty
Carolina Students will have several new courses to chose from this academic year, led by the newest member of the Jewish Studies Program, Evyatar Marienberg, the inaugural Sara and E.J. Evans Fellow in Jewish History and Culture Read more....
Public Events
for 2009-2010
The Center announces community events and academic lectures for 2009-2010. Read more....
Eli N. Evans '58 Receives Honorary Degree Evans, a writer, philanthropist, and founding chair of our Advisory Board, received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at Commencement in May. Read more....
"Intro to Jewish Studies" Course
Undergraduates pursuing a minor in Jewish Studies are now benefitting from a new core course, "Introduction to Jewish Studies", taught by Professor Jonathan Boyarin. Read more....
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Jewish Studies events to explore Klezmer dance, genocide, more
Jewish Studies Professorship Named for Stuart Eizenstat '64
Jewish studies lectures for spring 2008 probe music, the South, more
Deborah Dash Moore delivers inaugural Eli N. Evans lecture
Jewish studies to recruit rising faculty star with $1 million gift
Jonathan Boyarin, Leonard and Tobee Kaplan Distinguished Professor of Modern Jewish Thought, Delivers Inaugural Lecture
Screening of film on Jewish baseball star opens fall 2007 lecture series
UNC Hires Professor of Modern Jewish Thought
Holocaust reparation funds support Jewish studies professorship at UNC
Jonathan Hess appointed to professorship
Marcie Cohen Ferris featured on North Carolina Public Radio's "The State of Things"
Jodi Magness wins international book award
Christopher Browning elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Marcie Cohen Ferris's book, Matzoh Ball Gumbo: Culinary Tales of the Jewish South, nominated for James Beard Award
Marcie Cohen Ferris featured in Endeavors magazine
UNC Library provides free online source of information on Southern Jewish history
Heilig gift creates annual Jewish Studies lectureship
Leonard and Tobee Kaplan give $1 million gift to establish distinguished professorship
Revson Foundation honors alumnus Eli Evans with gift to Carolina Center for Jewish Studies
Historian, Dr. Christopher R. Browning, details origins of Nazis’ ‘final solution’ to Jewish problem
Jonathan Hess named new Director of the CCJS
Launching of the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies
Summer 2009 newsletter
Spring 2009 newsletter
Center Brochure 2008
Winter 2008 newsletter
Fall 2008 newsletter
Spring 2008 newsletter
Fall 2007 newsletter
Spring 2007 newsletter
Fall 2006 newsletter
Spring 2006 newsletter
Fall 2005 newsletter
Spring 2005 newsletter
Spring 2004 newsletter
Fall 2003 newsletter
Letter from Eli Evans, advisory board chair
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