Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Summer Internships at J Street

J Street Summer 2011 Internships
Please email saraht@jstreet.org with any questions. Applications are considered on a rolling basis.

Deadline Approaching Soon:
J Street U Congressional Internship Program
Experience politics from an insider’s perspective with J Street U Congressional Internship Program, where student leaders will be placed in Congressional offices in Washington, DC for a summer internship. As supplement to their work on the Hill, interns will participate in several activities and events related to J Street throughout the summer. Apply today!

Please email rlevy@jstreetu.org with any questions. Applications are due April 1st, 2011.

Internships by City:
Washington, DC Based Internships:
•J Street Summer ’11 Political and Development Intern – DC – This position will involve assisting the DC Political Department staff on assorted administrative, clerical, research and programmatic tasks and projects. The intern will especially have duties related to supporter outreach and development work.
•J Street Summer ’11 Israel & International Program Internship – DC – This position will involve assisting the Director of Israel and International Programs on assorted administrative, communications, and programmatic tasks and projects. The ideal candidate will be a native Hebrew speaker with advanced skills in Microsoft Excel.
•J Street Summer ’11 J Street Education Fund Intern – DC – This position will involve assisting national staff on assorted administrative, clerical, research and programmatic tasks and projects. The J Street Education Fund intern will especially have duties relating to programming and speaking tours throughout the country.
•J Street Summer ’11 Video Editing & Education Internship – DC – This position will involve developing educational resources for J Street’s Locals (community chapters) and campus groups around the country. The intern will edit video footage from speaking events, produce DVDs, conduct research, develop discussion guides, etc.
•J Street U Summer ’11 Congressional Internship Program – DC – Student leaders will be placed in Congressional offices in Washington, DC and, as supplement to their work on the Hill, will participate in several activities and events related to J Street throughout the summer
New York City Based Internships:
•J Street Summer ’11 Field and Development Intern – NYC – This position is ideal for applicants interested in community organizing, non-profit development, or political advocacy, and will especially involve supporter cultivation and outreach.
•J Street Summer ’11 J Street U Intern – NYC – Primary responsibilities will include, but are not limited to assisting national staff on assorted administrative, clerical, research and programmatic tasks and projects and assistance with executing public events. The J Street U intern will especially have duties related to student programming.
•J Street Summer ’11 Communications and New Media – NYC – This position is a perfect fit for someone interested in new media and communications. The intern will work on building and optimizing our new media outreach, website, and online communication tools.
San Francisco Internship:
•J Street Summer ’11 Northern California Internship – SF – Primary responsibilities will include, but are not limited to assisting national staff on assorted administrative, clerical, research and programmatic tasks and projects. The Northern California Intern will especially have duties related to supporter outreach in the Bay Area.
Chicago Internship:
•J Street Summer ’11 Chicago Internship – Chicago – Primary responsibilities will include, but are not limited to assisting staff on assorted administrative, clerical, research and programmatic tasks and projects. The Chicago intern will especially have duties related to supporter outreach in Chicago.
Philadelphia Internship:
•J Street Summer ’11 Outreach and Advocacy Intern, Mid-Atlantic Region Internship – Philadelphia – Responsibilities will include assisting staff in planning and executing events in the Mid-Atlantic Region, and supporter outreach.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Thursday April 7: Lecture on Negotiating Arab-Israel Peace at CMU

A Lecture: Negotiating Arab-Israel Peace in Turbulent Times

You are invited to join us on Thursday, April 7, 2011, when Carnegie Mellon University History Professor, Dr. Laurie Zittrain Eisenberg, will introduce her latest book, Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace: Patterns, Problems, Possibilities.

Professor Eisenberg examines the history of recurrent efforts to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict, focusing on peacemaking episodes from the Egyptian-Israeli peace of 1979 through the beginning of the Obama administration. She (and co-author Neil Caplan) consider how, when, and why the process does or does not work and explore what must change if diplomats are to achieve an enduring peace in the Middle East.

Professor Eisenberg is a historian of the modern Middle East, and her areas of research and publication include the Arab-Israeli conflict and peace process, and the interaction of multiple Middle East actors, particularly, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinians.

Please join us at 8pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011 in the Giant Eagle Auditorium (Baker Hall A51) at Carnegie Mellon University. The Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh is co-sponsoring the event with the Arab Student Organization of CMU, the Muslim Student Association of CMU, and the Global Studies Department at CMU. Book signing and dessert reception to follow the lecture.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Medieval and Renaissance Studies Essay Prize

The University of Pittsburgh Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program is pleased to announce our annual award for
THE BEST UNDERGRADUATE ESSAY
in
MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE STUDIES
$500 in prize money will be awarded!
Eligibility:
Papers written for an undergraduate course in any discipline are eligible as long as they meet the following four criteria: 1) Papers should be at least eight pages long; 2) Papers must focus on a topic concerning the medieval and/or early modern periods—depending on the topic, relevant dates might extend from the seventh century through the seventeenth century; 3) Papers must have been written for a Pitt course taken between fall 2009 and spring 2011; 4) Papers must not already have won another prize, although they may be submitted simultaneously for other awards.
Submission:
Please turn in three copies before 4 p.m. on Friday, April 15 to the mailbox of Matt Carulli, which is located in the Department of French and Italian, CL 1328. Include a cover sheet with the following information: 1) Your name, 2) Title of paper 3) Course name and semester taken, and 4) Instructor’s name. Note that only the title of your paper (not your name or the course name) should appear in the body of the paper.
Questions? Please contact Professor Jennifer Waldron (jwaldron@pitt.edu)
Pitt’s Certificate in
Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Have you taken a course on Shakespeare, Dante, Galileo or Michelangelo? On classical or medieval history, literature, or art? If so you have already completed some of the requirements for this certificate . . .
The Certificate is designed to give students the freedom to undertake interdisciplinary work in several departments. It is an added credential (similar to a minor) that demonstrates a student’s substantive grasp of complex cultural formations as well as a student’s willingness to undertake a specialized intellectual challenge in addition to the major.
Aside from the resume boost, why might you complete this certificate?
An intellectual interest in a time period far removed from our own can bring many rewards: the pleasures of understanding some of the key historical developments that underpin modern life, of seeing how people in earlier time periods came up with different answers to some of the same questions we have now, and, perhaps most importantly, of gaining the ability to project oneself imaginatively into another person’s way of life.
Undergraduate Certificate Requirements
At least five courses:
 Three of these five courses must be at the level of 1000 or above.
 One of these five must be focused on the medieval period.
 One of these five must be focused on the Renaissance period.
 No more than two courses from any given department may count toward the total. In practice this means that your work for the certificate must include courses from at least three different departments.
How to Enroll in the Certificate Program
Students are invited to enroll for the Certificate at any point in their academic studies, but we encourage you to sign up as early as possible. To enroll, complete the “Add/Change Program” form in 140 Thackeray or in the Department of French and Italian (CL 1328). Please contact us for additional information about enrolling in the program:
Dr. Jennifer Waldron, Director or Mr. Matt Carulli, Assistant
Cathedral of Learning 617G Cathedral of Learning 1328
Phone: 412-624-3246 Phone: 412-624-5220
Email: jwaldron@pitt.edu Email: mdc24@pitt.edu
For more details, including a listing of the many courses that count towards the Certificate, check out our website: http://www.medren.pitt.edu/

Monday, March 7, 2011

March 22: Two Events with Pitt Graduate Warren Hoffman

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
JEWISH STUDIES PROGRAM

PRESENTS: TWO EVENTS WITH WARREN HOFFMAN

TUESDAY MARCH 22, 2011



1-2:30 PM, A FACULTY-GRADUATE STUDENT SEMINAR
BEFORE STONEWALL: EARLY QUEER JEWISH TEXTS AND NARRATIVE DESIRE

2628 CATHEDRAL OF LEARNING

While Angels in America has in many ways come to represent the pinnacle of queer Jewish cultural production in America, what queer Jewish texts existed earlier in the 20th century? We'll look at passages from Abraham Cahan's 1917 The Rise of David Levinsky and Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint (1969) and discuss the complexities of homoerotic narrative in these pre-Stonewall classics.

CO-SPONSORED BY WOMEN’S STUDIES, CULTURAL STUDIES, AND THE HUMANITIES CENTER.


7-9 PM, PUBLIC LECTURE
BLACKS AND JEWS ON STAGE AND SCREEN
BENEDUM HALL, ROOM G30
With their shared heritages of slavery, discrimination and Diaspora, blacks and Jews have trod similar, yet distinctive paths. This presentation explores the various ways in which this complex history has manifested itself in films, plays and music. We'll watch and discuss clips from The Jazz Singer (1927), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Liberty Heights (1999), and Fires in the Mirror (1993), and listen to music from Tin Pan Alley musicians like Irving Berlin. We'll look at these works to determine the contributions that African Americans and Jewish Americans have made to American popular culture at large, as well as to determine what this says about how blacks and Jews talk to and about each other.

CO-SPONSORED BY JFILM: THE PITTSBURGH JEWISH FILM FORUM AND THE PENNSYLVANIA HUMANITIES COUNCIL COMMONWEALTH SPEAKERS PROGRAM SUPPORTED IN PART BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES “WE THE PEOPLE” INITIATIVE.

Warren Hoffman is the Director of Arts and Cultural Programming at the Gershman Y in Philadelphia, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Temple University. He is the author of The Passing Game: Queering Jewish American Culture (Syracuse University Press, 2009). Hoffman holds a Ph.D. in American Literature from University of California-Santa Cruz and has written and lectured on a number of topics including Jewish literature, queer theory and American drama. Warren’s first play, New Words, was recently nominated for the Christopher Brian Wolk Playwriting Award. Warren earned his BA in English, Spanish, and Religious Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. For more information: Adam Shear, Jewish Studies Program, ashear@pitt.edu

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Interested in Jewish Theological Seminary for Graduate School?

Dear Dr. Shear,

I’m pleased to remind you that The Graduate School of JTS is now accepting MA applications for Fall 2011. Fellowship funding is available, and the priority deadline for fellowship and financial aid consideration is April 1, 2011. Students can apply here. For more information, please visit www.jtsa.edu/graduate, or contact me directly at abeisenberg@jtsa.edu or (212) 678-8022.

Please share this announcement with students and colleagues, and please forward to me the names and contact information of specific students who you think may benefit from graduate study at JTS. Thank you in advance for your help.

The Graduate School of JTS offers:
• An extensive academic program of advanced Judaica with 15 areas of specialization
• A diverse cohort of students from a variety of backgrounds and cultures
• Intensive Hebrew language courses for students who wish to improve their Hebrew skills
• An ideal balance of rigorous academics with a warm community that supports students' intellectual and personal growth
• Successful alumni who are leaders in their fields, and who serve as resources for students
• Opportunities to explore professional opportunities in academia through programs and networking opportunities
• Dual degree options in Jewish Education through the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at JTS and Jewish Professional Leadership through a master's degree in Social Work at Columbia University

Sincerely,

Abby Eisenberg
(212) 678-8022
Director of Admissions
The Graduate School of JTS

Lecture March 13: Ruth Wisse, "Discovering Yiddish Literature"

Discovering Yiddish Literature

A free lecture by Ruth Wisse

Professor of Yiddish and Comparative Literature
Harvard University

Take advantage of this special lecture by a distinguished Jewish scholar sponsored by Congregation Dor Hadash.

Join us to learn about great Yiddish works, among them novels that rank with the best English, Russian and French novels of the 19th Century. Professor Wisse has been a world-renowned scholar of Yiddish literature for decades as author, editor, and teacher. Among her many important books is The Modern Jewish Canon (2000), winner of The National Jewish Book Award and the Jewish Cultural Achievement Award in Scholarship.

Sunday, March 13, 2011
10 AM—12 PM
Location: Tree of Life, Wilkins and Shady, Squirrel Hill