Jews in the American Political and Public Square
Date: Jun 17, 2024
Time: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Sponsor: Online Lecture Series
Location: Online
Category: JTS Alumni in the World
Jews in the American Political and Public Square
Part of our summer learning series JTS Alumni in the World: Scholarship and Impact
Monday, June 17
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
Online
With Dr. Lauren Strauss (Kekst Graduate School ’04), Professor of Modern Jewish History, American University
The extent of Jewish participation in the American political process far outweighs the relative number of Jews in the population. Yet the contemporary activism of Jews is consistent with a tradition of civic involvement from the earliest days of Jewish settlement in America. This webinar explores Jewish participation in the American political system. We briefly address the foundations of religious freedom in America through the nineteenth century, and then focus on the watershed politics of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, from labor strikes to landmark legal cases. In studying these issues, we plumb the depths of what it means to be a minority in a democratic society and what it means to be a Jew in the modern world.
The Zoom link for all sessions in the JTS Alumni in the World: Scholarship and Impact series will be in the confirmation email that you receive after you register.
Dr. Lauren Strauss teaches Jewish history and Israel studies at the American University in Washington, D.C., where she also serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Jewish Studies Program.
A scholar of American Jewish political and cultural history, her forthcoming book is Painting the Town Red: Jewish Visual Artists, Yiddish Culture, and Radical Politics in Interwar New York. Her next book explores political activism in the D.C. Jewish community in the twentieth century. Dr. Strauss lectures widely and is a commentator at Jewish cultural events and in the press. She is active in “shared society” groups and academic organizations in the U.S. and Israel, and she has curated or served as historian for several museum exhibits.
About the Series
Our esteemed JTS alumni are making important contributions through their work as scholars and thought leaders in their fields. Join them this summer for nine outstanding learning sessions. Through their engagement with Jewish text, history, and thought, they are enhancing the spiritual and personal lives of individuals, building more inclusive communities, and preparing the leaders of tomorrow, ensuring a stronger Jewish future.
