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
Latest Fit News
Black Women to Gather in Philadelphia for 2024 Annual Power Rising Summit, ‘For the Win!’
PHILADELPHIA, February 9, 2024 (Newswire.com) - Black women from around the country are gathering at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown in Philadelphia, PA, February 9-11, 2024, for Power Rising’s annual national summit. This year’s theme, “For the Win!”, will focus conversations on all the ways that black women can win in this moment — from our health to our communities, businesses, finances and our nation. Plenary and workshop sessions will include conversations about a range of key issues black women are dealing with in our personal and professional lives. Topics will include black women’s leadership, reproductive justice, how to run for office, AI and increasing diversity in the tech sector, how to build wealth and common myths around investing and building financial freedom. Approximately 500 women and girls, of all ages, sexual orientations and gender identities, professional & educational backgrounds, and faiths are expected to attend. The summit began on Friday morning with an opening greeting from Power Rising Co-Convener Rev. Leah Daughtry with Musiq Soulchild closing out the weekend at Sunday brunch.
Founded in 2018, Power Rising provides a gathering place for Black women, from coast to coast, to come together and develop plans to build and maximize our personal and collective strengths. Our work is organized around five pillars: Business & Economic Empowerment, Culture & Community, Education & Technology, Health & Wellness, and Political Empowerment. Power Rising Action Fund, our c4 arm, engages in civic engagement and organizing on a nonpartisan basis; promotes awareness of and support for education regarding to strategies and best practices as it relates to community organizing and civic engagement; and promotes strategies that advance racial, gender and social justice. We carry out our work through annual gatherings, regional meetings, regularly scheduled webinars, and other organizing activities. Power Rising was birthed out of a retreat of the women of the Congressional Black Caucus, and our Organizing Committee of high-profile and frontline activists, businesswomen, and organizational leaders, representing the broad diversity of Black womanhood, have banded together to organize this annual gathering.
The following events are open to members of the media and on the record:
Friday, February 9, 2024:
10:00 a.m. - Opening Plenary Session
The State of Black Women: Critical Issues, Critical Action
Moderator: Symone D. Sanders, Author, Democratic Strategist and Co-Host MSNBC’s The Weekend
Panelists:
Rev. Shavon Arline-Bradley, President, National Council of Negro Women
Dr. Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO, the National Women’s Law Center
Kelley Robinson, President, The Human Rights Campaign
Andrea Joy Campbell, Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
12:00 p.m. - Luncheon Discussion
Bringing Our Gifts: How We Learn, Work, and Win Together
Moderator: Angela Rye, Esq., Principal and CEO IMPACT Strategies
Panelists:
LaTosha Brown, Southern Black Girls Consortium
Kristal Bush
Tamika Mallory, Co-Founder, Until Freedom
Imani Rupert-Gordon, Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights
Saturday, February 10, 2024
9:30 a.m. - Plenary Session: Hell No! Protecting and Defending Black Women’s Leadership
Moderator: Brittany Packnett Cunningham
Panelists:
Melanie Campbell, President and CEO, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation; Convener, Black Women’s Roundtable
Dr. Brittney Cooper, Professor, Rutgers University
Ashley Etienne
Karen Finney, Political Strategist, Political Commentator, Advocate
Media Credentialing Information:
Members of the media who wish to cover the Plenary sessions can pick up credentials on Friday 10 a.m.-11 a.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m. In order to gain access to the events, media will be required to show valid press credentials from their media organization
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Contact Information:Power Rising
info@powerrising.org
Karen Finney
Board Member
media@powerrising.org
Original Source: Black Women to Gather in Philadelphia for 2024 Annual Power Rising Summit, 'For the Win!'
