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The Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies


Seminars & Workshops
 





 
    THE SEMINARS are designed to strengthen teaching about the Holocaust at American institutions. Three seminars are organized each year to assist faculty members who are teaching or preparing university-level courses on the Holocaust by providing them with resource materials, model presentations on key issues, and suggested approaches for teaching difficult topics. The seminars focus on a specific academic discipline or subject and are taught by leading figures in the field. Each seminar typically engages 20 faculty members annually. The Museum defrays the cost of accommodation and travel for all non-local participants and offers some opportunities to use the Museum's extensive Library and Archives. The first seminar focusing on strengthening Holocaust teaching at the college and university levels was taught by Raul Hilberg in 1999.

 

   
Participants in the Center's seminars are chosen competitively from a broad spectrum of college and university faculties. Some past examples are:
  • Arizona State University
  • Boston College
  • Brandeis University
  • California State University-San Bernadino
  • Clark Atlanta University
  • Coppin State University
  • Delaware State University
  • Florida International University
  • Georgetown University
  • Howard University
  • Indiana University-Bloomington
  • Kentucky State University
  • Mount St. Mary’s College
  • North Carolina A&T University
  • Pacific Lutheran University
  • Pennsylvania State University-Shenango
  • Prairie View A&M University
  • Seattle University
  • South Carolina State University
  • Southeastern Louisiana University
  • St. Thomas University
  • Texas Southern University
  • The College of the Bahamas
  • The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • University of Alberta
  • University of Cincinnati
  • University of Denver
  • University of Maryland
  • University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
  • University of Regina
  • University of Sydney
  • University of Wyoming
  • Utah Valley State College
  • Virginia Theological Seminary
   
   
To receive future program announcements, please sign up for our mailing list.

   




 



CURT C. AND ELSE SILBERMAN SEMINAR FOR FACULTY — The Silberman Seminar is held annually during the first two weeks of June. The Curt C. and Else Silberman Foundation endowed the Silberman Seminar for Faculty in memory of Curt C. and Else Silberman. The Foundation supports programs in higher education that promote, protect, and strengthen Jewish values in democracy, human rights, ethical leadership, and cultural pluralism.

Participant response to the seminars has been enthusiastic and positive.

 


 
"I came away with a fuller appreciation of the power of primary sources in documenting historical events and bringing them alive, and I expect that discovery to significantly affect what I teach and how I teach."

"I found the seminar to have been the most intellectually stimulating and inspiring academic program I have attended in my fifteen years as a faculty member ... The seminar made me remember why I decided to become an academic ... I returned from the seminar re-energized and excited about sharing what I learned with the students who have signed up for my courses ... I feel truly honored and privileged for having been allowed to participate."
   
   


2009 CURT C. AND ELSE SILBERMAN SEMINAR FOR FACULTY
OFFICIAL 2009 SEMINAR ANNOUNCEMENT. PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION
The 2009 seminar will deepen participants’ understanding of why and how the Holocaust occurred; introduce them to contemporary reflections on its aftermath and aftereffects; and equip them with the knowledgebase and pedagogical techniques required to address the most frequently asked questions (and misconceptions) raised by students as well as the fundamental issues that should concern students most.

Read about past Curt C. and Else Silberman Seminars for Faculty.
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JACK AND ANITA HESS SEMINAR FOR FACULTY
Faculty from Historically Black Colleges and Universities who participated in the 2006 Hess Seminar, led by Mary Coleman, Professor of Political Science, Associate Dean, College of Liberal Arts, and Director, Center for University Scholars, Jackson State University; and Alan Steinweis, Rosenberg Associate Professor of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Faculty from Historically Black Colleges and Universities who participated in the 2006 Hess Seminar, led by Mary Coleman, Professor of Political Science, Associate Dean, College of Liberal Arts, and Director, Center for University Scholars, Jackson State University; and Alan Steinweis, Rosenberg Associate Professor of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The one-week Jack and Anita Hess Seminar for Faculty is held annually during the first week of January. This seminar was endowed by David Hess of Arizona and Edward Hess of Georgia in memory of their parents, Jack and Anita Hess, who believed passionately in the power of education to overcome racial and religious prejudice.

"From the organizers to the archivists, from the leaders to my fellow participants, everyone was intelligent, amiable, and as accommodating as possible. It was an exciting and rewarding week."

"The week-long experience has been one of the most engaging in my intellectual and academic career. Faculty at [Historically Black Colleges and Universities] rarely have an opportunity for intellectual enrichment, particularly given our very heavy teaching loads and other service responsibilities.... Future leaders must be educated about their own past and how their history intersects and differs from that of other groups of people. Moreover, in today's world, we must impart values of humility, respect for diversity, and an appreciation for human rights and social justice.... We can actually use the history to empower students in ways that help them to develop conscientious leadership and responsive citizenship. I see teaching the Holocaust as critical to this endeavor."
   
   


Read about past Jack and Anita Hess Seminars for Faculty.
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ANNUAL SEMINAR FOR SEMINARY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES FACULTY — This seminar offers professors of philosophy, theology, ethics, and religious studies an overview of the history of the churches during the Holocaust, both inside and outside Nazi Germany, and the ways in which religious leaders of all faiths have addressed the Holocaust since 1945. The seminar focuses on a particular theme or historical aspect in alternate years. Each seminar includes special presentations by experts in the field; a review of curricular resources, new research, and publications; and an introduction to the Museum's resources for scholars.

Participants of past seminars have been enthusiastic:

 


 
"The seminar provided me with resources and excellent articles that I can and will use in my ‘Responding to the Holocaust' course. The seminar also allowed me the space and dialogue opportunities to think about pedagogical questions surrounding teaching the Holocaust to Christians."
   
   


Read about past Annual Seminars for Seminary and Religious Studies Faculty.
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INTENSIVE YIDDISH COURSE FOR HOLOCAUST RESEARCH — The Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Indiana University Summer Workshop in Slavic, East European, and Central Asian Languages organize an intensive reading-comprehension course, Reading Yiddish for Holocaust Research, in alternate years at Indiana University.

The six-week course is designed for students and scholars with strong German-language skills who want to acquire Yiddish reading knowledge in order to access Jewish source documents and perspectives on the Holocaust and thus to better understand the Yiddish-speaking Jewish communities of Europe and their responses to the assault by the Nazis and their allies. The course focuses on reading skills for use in research and offer participants the equivalent of a full year (6 credits) of college language instruction for reading Yiddish. The next course is scheduled for 2010.

This course is made possible through the generosity of Judith and Tony Gelbart.

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