Greenfield Summer Institute

×

Expand

courtesy Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies

Greenfield Summer Institute is an annual symposium hosted by the Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies at UW-Madison.

media release: UW-Madison’s George L. Mosse/Laurence A. Weinstein Center presents The 23rd Annual Greenfield Summer Institute: Jews & Leisure

July 17-20, 2023

About this year's theme:

From weekly Shabbat to vacations in the Catskills, Jewish leisure takes distinctive forms. Treat yourself to this year’s Greenfield Summer Institute for four days of learning and socializing on the UW-Madison campus. Join us as distinguished scholars from across fields explore Algerian villas, Sephardic barbeques, European taverns and cafés, New York City dance halls, Florida beaches, and of course, the game of mahjong, to consider the many ways that Jews have rested, relaxed, reconnected, and restored their spirits. You can view the full schedule of events here.

Schedule of Events

For more information about each event, please see the full schedule of events here.

Monday, July 17

8:00am | Continental Breakfast & Registration

9:00am | "Sephardim in the Sun: From Beaches to Backyard Barbecues" | Rachel Smith, Columbia University

10:45am | "Scandal on the Dance Floor: Taverns, Ballrooms, Weddings | Sonia Gollance, University College London

1:30pm | "Fighting Antisemitism on Vacation: Wisconsin Resorts in the Postwar Era | Jonathan Pollack, Madison Area Technical College & University of Wisconsin-Madison

3:15pm | Film screening and discussion with director Lex Gillespie: The Mamboniks (Malecón Films, 2019)

Tuesday, July 18

8:00am | Continental Breakfast and Registration

9:00am | "Israeli Folk Dance in Postwar America" | Emily Alice Katz, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

10:45am | "The Catskills: How the "Jewish Alps" Became America's Playland | Stephen M. Silverman, Author

1:30pm | "The Politics of Jewish Sports Movements in Interwar Poland" | Jack Jacobs, City University of New York

3:15pm | Film screening and discussion: The Last Resort (2018) | Directed by Dennis Scholl & Kareem Tabsch

Wednesday, July 19

8:00am | Continental Breakfast & Registration

9:00am | "Enjoying The Joys of Yiddish" | Sunny Yudkoff, University of Wisconsin-Madison

10:45am | "A Rich Brew: Coffeehouses and Modern Jewish Culture" | Shachar Pinsker, University of Michigan

1:30pm | "Kofman's Sabbath" | Adam Stern, University of Wisconsin-Madison

3:15pm | "Mahjong: A Chinese Game and the Making of Modern American Culture" | Annelise Heinz, University of Oregon

5:30pm | Closing Dinner

Thursday, July 20

8:00am | Continental Breakfast & Registration

9:00am | "Leisure Sites as Sites of Resistance: The Aboulker Family and the Jewish Underground in Algiers That Helped Win World War II" | Ethan Katz, University of California, Berkeley

10:45am | "Jews on the Move: the Jewish Traveler in the Modern World" | Lauren B. Strauss, American University

12:00pm | Closing Lunch