Issues and Methods in the History and Philosophy of Jewish Education

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Education has long held a central place in Jewish culture. Looking at centuries of Jewish history, this symposium examines how Jewish education and conceptions of Jewish identity have been transformed in different historical, cultural, and social contexts. It traces how Jews have formally and informally transmitted their culture and worldview over the years, with particular attention to the shift from premodernity to modernity and to the unique opportunities and challenges of contemporary American Jewish education. Together, the presenters argue that Jewish paideia is a product of Jewish life firmly enmeshed within its environment.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Religion and Education

Chair

• Barry Chazan, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Spertus College, Chicago

Papers

• Premodern Jewish Education and the Crisis of Modernity - Robert Chazan, New York University

• Expansive Opportunities on the American Scene: A New Culture of Jewish Education - Barry Chazan, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Spertus College, Chicago

• The Counterculture of American Jewish Education - Benjamin M. Jacobs, The George Washington University

Discussant

• Bethamie Horowitz, New York University