What to Wear: Women, Clothing, Religion

An All-Day, Multifaceted Exploration of Women’s
Clothing and Its Relationship to Religion and Culture

Sunday, March 11, 2012
10:30 a.m.–8:30 p.m.
(Check-in begins at 10:00 a.m.)
at JTS

 

The Jewish Theological Seminary presents a day of exciting, interdisciplinary, interreligious, and intergenerational learning with scholars, artists, and teachers of teens and adults.

The news has been filled with examples of women's clothing having an inflammatory effect in France, Egypt, and Israel. Participants in What to Wear will have an opportunity to learn about and discuss clothing as a reflection and shaper of culture.

  • What do religious traditions have to say about modesty?
  • How does women's clothing transmit messages about religious and personal identity?
  • How do families negotiate questions about appropriate attire for religious ceremonies?
  • What do biblical, rabbinic, and historical documents have to say about women's clothing?
  • How has women's clothing provided inspiration for fabric artists?

What to Wear: Women, Clothing, Religion will feature a keynote address by Dr. Valerie Steele, of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, on "Fashion: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?" and will close with the Henry N. and Selma S. Rapaport Memorial Lecture by Dr. Jenna Weissman Joselit of George Washington University on "In Good Taste: American Jews and the Pursuit of Acceptance." Alana Newhouse, editor in chief, Tablet Magazine, will serve as respondent. (The evening's Rapaport Lecture is free to the public.)

 

 

Registration for the What to Wear daylong event is now closed. You may still register to attend the free Henry N. and Selma S. Rapaport Memorial Lecture.

 

If you wish to attend only the Henry N. and Selma S. Rapaport Memorial Lecture at 7:00 p.m., please visit www.jtsa.edu/good-taste to register. What to Wear attendees have been registered for the Rapaport Lecture automatically.

Please bring photo ID.

The Jewish Theological Seminary
3080 Broadway (at West 122nd St.)
New York City

Questions? For more information, email what2wear@jtsa.edu.

Find directions to JTS.

Program Schedule

 

What to Wear will provide ASL interpretation for all plenary sessions and two concurrent sessions. We thank UJA-Federation of NY which helps to fund the ASL interpretation at What to Wear through its NY Jewish Community Deaf Interpreting Fund, administered by The Jewish Deaf Resource Center (JDRC). JTS is also handicapped accessible.

Time
Program Details

10:30–11:45 a.m.

"Fashion: What It Means and Why It Matters"—Dr. Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology

Noon–1:00 p.m.

"Head Covering and Modesty"—Panelists: Dr. Mary Boys, Union Theological Seminary; Rori Picker Neiss, Yeshivat Maharat; Tayyibah Taylor, Azizah; moderator: Dr. Carol Ingall, JTS

1:00–2:00 p.m.

Private Lunch for Teens led by Dr. Shira Epstein, JTS; and Jennifer Groen, Moving Traditions.

Box Lunch for all prepaid adult attendees

2:15–3:15 p.m.

Concurrent Sessions I

  1. "Earrings, Cuffs, and Silk Cloth Badges: Legislating Gender, Class, and Religious Identity in Renaissance Italy"—Dr. Stefanie Siegmund, JTS
  2. "'OMG—I Can't Believe She Wore That!'" For Teens Only—Dr. Epstein and Ms. Groen
  3. "The Naked and the Damned: Stripping in the Bible"—Dr. Amy Kalmanofsky, JTS, with Rabbi Lewis Warshauer
  4. "Jews and Shoes"—Dr. Edna Nahshon, JTS
  5. "From Jewess Jeans to Juicy JAPs: Clothing and Jewish Stereotypes—Dr. Shuly Rubin Schwartz, JTS
  6. Unbuttoned: Women's Clothing and American Jewish Humor"—Dr. Ted Merwin, Dickinson College
  7. "Women Clergy and Self-Representation"—Rabbi Francine Green Roston, Congregation Beth El (South Orange, New Jersey) and Rev. Dr. Katharine Rhodes Henderson, Auburn Theological Seminary.
  8. "The Fabric of Our Lives: Defining Gender With Pattern and Color"—Jane Trigère, fabric artist, will lead us through her installation inspired by the women's upstairs gallery of an old synagogue
  9. "Concealing and Revealing: The Torah We Learn From Clothing"— Jacqueline Nicholls, fabric artist, will discuss her kittel collection

3:30–5:00 p.m.

Concurrent Sessions II

  1. "'You Can't Wear That!' Aging and Coming of Age." An Intergenerational presentation around a bat mitzvah/confirmation. Discussants: The Westheimer-Einleger Family and the Ramer Family, grandmothers, mothers, and daughters—Dr. Beth Cooper Benjamin, Ma'yan, moderator.
  2. "Clothing and Adornment: Sartorial Insights on Gender Definition in the Talmud"—Dr. David Kraemer, JTS
  3. "The Fabric of our Lives: Defining Gender With Pattern and Color"—Jane Trigère

5:00–7:00 p.m.

Time to visit vendor booths.
(15 tables with ritual items, clothing, jewelry, and more)

6:00–6:45 p.m.

Dinner for prepaid attendees

7:00

Henry N. and Selma S. Rapaport Memorial Lecture

"In Good Taste: American Jews and the Pursuit of Acceptance"—Dr. Jenna Weissman Joselit, George Washington University. Alana Newhouse, editor-in-chief, Tablet Magazine, will serve as respondent.

Admission to this lecture is free and included with your registration for What to Wear. If you wish to attend only the free Henry N. and Selma S. Rapaport Memorial Lecture, please register at www.jtsa.edu/good-taste.


Questions? For more information, email what2wear@jtsa.edu.