In conversation with leaders of the Jewish cultural studies movement, Simon J. Bronner, Dean of the College of General Studies and Distinguished Professor of Social Sciences at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, launches the release of his provocative book Jewish Cultural Studies, published by Wayne State University Press (May 2021).

Joining him to discuss the significance of Jewish cultural studies now and in the future are:

• Jonathan Boyarin, Diann G. and Thomas A. Mann Professor of Modern Jewish Studies at Cornell University, and author of Yeshiva Days and Jewish Families, along with many other publications.
• Sander Gilman, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the Liberal Arts and Sciences at Emory University, and author or editor of over eighty books, including The Jew’s Body.
• Lisa Silverman, Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and author of Becoming Austrians: Jews and Culture Between the World Wars and Holocaust Representations in History: An Introduction (with Daniel Magilow), along with many other publications.

Bronner’s book will provoke discussion of the distinguishing features of Jewish culture and the ways it has been studied, and often misrepresented and maligned. Examining a shift in Jewish Studies toward the cultural subject that make it intriguing and necessary not only for Jews but for students of identity, ethnicity, and diversity, Bronner and the panelists will discuss the events and actions identified as Jewish to discern what makes them appear Jewish and why.

The event is sponsored by the Sam & Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and cosponsored by Wayne State University Press, Jewish Folklore and Ethnology Section of the American Folklore Society, and UWM’s College of General Studies.

Details for the event can be found below:
Thursday, May 20, 2021
7:00 – 8:15 pm CDT
Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qDQf8THYTf-g1BciNlYMGg

All registrants will be entered into a raffle for a copy of Jewish Cultural Studies, generously provided by Wayne State University Press.