Education
Gratz College Launches America’s First Master’s Degree in Antisemitism Studies
PHILADELPHIA, February 22, 2024 (Newswire.com) - Gratz College is launching the first Master of Arts degree program in Antisemitism Studies in the United States in Fall 2024. This ground-breaking program will help fill the vacuum of knowledge about antisemitism across Jewish, non-Jewish, and governmental organizations responsible for generating policy to combat prejudice at a time of unprecedented Jew hatred.
It will:
• Provide an academic home for those seeking to develop both a deep theoretical and practical understanding of antisemitism;
• Help generate new and impactful research on the factors that contribute to growing antisemitism and test interventions that can successfully combat it; and
• Arm educators and practitioners with the most effective antisemitism pedagogy and programming.
Through degree concentrations in teaching, advocacy and research, graduates of this program will be uniquely qualified for prominent careers in education, think tanks, government relations, public policy, and community organizations (Jewish and non-Jewish).
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is eager to see this program take shape:
“We’re seeing a dangerous rise in antisemitism, hatred, and bigotry across our country – and it’s more important than ever that Pennsylvanians be equipped with a thorough knowledge of our shared history and the skills to discern fact from fiction. Gratz College is already renowned for its Holocaust and Genocide Studies programs, and I am encouraged the College is expanding upon that work with a new Master’s degree in Antisemitism Studies. I wish the faculty, staff, and especially the inaugural class of Antisemitism Studies students, great success in their work.”
The program is directed by Dr. Ayal Feinberg, antisemitism studies expert and Director of the Center for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights at Gratz College. The program boasts a distinguished interdisciplinary faculty from academia and leading public advocacy organizations. Despite its infancy, the degree has been endorsed by nearly one hundred scholars and public policy experts from around the world. Professor of Political Science at Kalamazoo College R. Amy Elman asserts, “With an emphasis on operationalizing knowledge, informed teaching and ethical advocacy, Gratz’s innovative graduate program fulfills a deep need in countering antisemitism.”
Gratz’s Antisemitism Studies program is also establishing ground-breaking partnerships with the world’s most prominent Jewish organizations and programs to combat antisemitism in the classroom, on campus, and in professional workspaces. In the first such partnership, Gratz and The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History have joined forces to launch the National Education Fellowship on Antisemitism. The aim of this fellowship is to generate and assess paradigm-shifting middle and high school curriculum to reduce Jew-hatred and prejudice more broadly.
As an early adopter of online education, a 128-year history of Jewish learning, and home to the world’s largest graduate program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Gratz is uniquely qualified to take on this necessary and overdue program.
On March 4, 2024, the master’s degree program will kick-off with a series of public lectures, including by scholars serving as affiliate faculty for the program. On April 2, 2024, Dr. Avinoam Patt, inaugural director of NYU’s Center for Study of Antisemitism and the Maurice Greenberg Professor of Holocaust Studies, will deliver a keynote lecture, titled, "Awake My People": Jewish Responses to Antisemitism in the Modern Period.” Additional talks will take place before the program officially begins in August.
Prospective students eager to start may apply now and take courses as early as March 2024 with electives in Antisemitism Studies already developed as a preview to the program.
Gratz College is grateful to the Isidore and Penny Myers Foundation for generously supporting the launch of the Antisemitism Studies program. Jay Myers, Board Chair, shared: “The Isidore and Penny Myers Foundation, a family foundation guided by Jewish American values, sees great worth in educating future generations about the roots of Antisemitism, and by doing so, working to combat it. This degree program will create scholars who can devote their talent to meet this challenge. Our Foundation is proud to support this work and by so doing, meet our obligation to help repair the world.”
Contact: lcohen@gratz.edu for more information.
Contact Information:Lori Cohen
Director of Marketing and Design
lcohen@gratz.edu
215-635-7300 x182
Original Source: Gratz College Launches America's First Master's Degree in Antisemitism Studies
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Filmmakers Launch ‘The Cure for Hate’ Educational and Social Impact Campaign to Combat Rising National Hate Crimes Crisis
Tony McAleer
Tony McAleer in 'The Cure for Hate: Bearing Witness to Auschwitz,' directed by Peter Hutchison
NEW YORK, September 27, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Author and anti-hate activist Tony McAleer and filmmaker Peter Hutchison of Eat the Moon Films are proud to announce the launch of THE CURE FOR HATE, a nationwide educational and social impact campaign designed to combat the rising national hate crimes crisis this fall.
"Several years in the making — from the U.S. to Poland to Canada — we’re thrilled to begin sharing 'The Cure for Hate' and our social impact program with high schools and communities across America," said Hutchison. "Stories like these are a powerful tool, and can play a crucial role in helping to turn the tide of racism and intolerance."
The program will debut in Pittsburgh on Sept. 27 with Dismantling Conspiracy Theories and Holocaust Denial: a film screening and panel discussion hosted by the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. The Cure for Hate team, former neo-Nazi turned anti-hate activist Tony McAleer and filmmaker Peter Hutchison (the upcoming "The Invisible Doctrine. The Secret History of Neoliberalism," “Healing from Hate,” “Requiem for the American Dream”) will also visit area secondary schools to engage with students, screen the film, and deliver the curriculum. THE CURE FOR HATE: BEARING WITNESS TO AUSCHWITZ will screen at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit. The program will also host a Teen Screen event with Film Pittsburgh in late September.
The engagements in Pittsburgh mark the first stop in an extensive screening tour targeting secondary schools and select communities across the country with stops in Oregon with Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, Idaho with the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights, Houston with TAPS Academy as part of its Anti-Hate Week, Tennessee with TN Holocaust Commission, and more to be announced shortly.
"I am really excited to share my journey and the history of the Holocaust with young people in a way that teaches important lessons to ensure it never happens again," said McAleer.
In the Jewish tradition, tshuvah means "return" and describes the return to God and our fellow human beings that is made possible through repentance for our wrongs.
THE CURE FOR HATE: BEARING WITNESS TO AUSCHWITZ follows Tony McAleer, a former Neo-Nazi and Holocaust denier, who went on to become a founding member of the anti-hate activist group Life After Hate. Profoundly aware and deeply ashamed of the lineage of hate he'd once promoted, McAleer had long-contemplated traveling to Auschwitz in the spirit of tshuvah — to bear witness to the inconceivable ravages of the Holocaust and deepen his personal work against the rise of extremist politics.
This project documents his profoundly personal journey of atonement to Auschwitz/Birkenau — exploring the conditions that allowed for the rise of fascism in 1930s Europe; shedding a unique light upon how men get into, and out of, violent extremist groups; and serving as a cautionary tale for our time that underscores the dangers in allowing hate to be left unchecked.
"The Cure for Hate brings the lessons of Auschwitz into the present, as living history — at this crucial moment, with hate and intolerance on the rise and continuing to dominate the headlines," said Hutchison. "Tony’s journey stands as a remarkable example of what is possible. After all, if a hardened neo-Nazi can find his way back from hate, then what lessons can it hold for the rest of us?"
Thanks to a grant from The Center for Prevention Programs & Partnerships “Targeted Violence & Terrorism Prevention Program,” THE CURE FOR HATE: BEARING WITNESS TO AUSCHWITZ aims to use the film and the lived experiences of author and subject Tony McAleer to counter the rising tide of intolerance and violent extremism. The impact program was created to engage vulnerable youth and select communities and — through the use of experiential learning exercises and the exploration of history — enhance resilience to indoctrination and radicalization.
"In this time of rising anti-Semitism, this film serves as both a memory and a warning of what hate can lead to if left unchecked," said McAleer.
Contact Information:Scott Motisko
Publicist
scott@scottmotiskopr.com
570-335-1305
Original Source: Filmmakers Launch 'The Cure for Hate' Educational and Social Impact Campaign to Combat Rising National Hate Crimes Crisis
