Sandra K Wasserman Jewish Studies Center

Mission
The Sandra Kahn Wasserman Jewish Studies Center (WJSC) in the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College reflects the legacy and heritage of the college, its tradition of educating New York City immigrants, its diverse population, and its special relationship to and place within Manhattan.
The WJSC is uniquely positioned to take advantage of Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business, School of Public Affairs, and Weissman School of Arts and Sciences as well as the Baruch Performing Arts Center. The WJSC is dedicated to teaching and informing the Baruch community and public about the history and experiences of Jews in America, specifically in New York City. Public programs, courses, events, and campus activities will focus on the Jewish immigration to New york City, and address some of the biggest issues and challenges currently facing today’s American Jewish community — Jewish philanthropy, Jewish business ethics, Jewish politics, Jewish identity and continuity, and the changing face of American Jewry.
Spring Public Events 2023
Interfaith Initiative: Faith, Conflicts and Coalition Series:
Antisemitism/Anti-Judaism: a conversation between Professor David Nirenberg, Tenth Director and Leon Levy Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ, and Professor Magda Teter, Professor of History and the Shvidler Chair of Judaic Studies at Fordham University
February 7th at 6:00 pm on Zoom
An in-person reading and discussion with Jane Saginaw, author of the memoir Because the World is Round
February 23rd at 6:00 pm
An in-person conversation about Albert Memmi with Jonathan Judaken and Michael Lejman, editors of The Albert Memmi Reader, following a screening of Margaux Fitoussi and Mo Scapelli’s short film El Hara
March
A conversation with Achy Obejas, novelist, poet, translator and journalist, author of Days of Awe, part of our Discovering Crypto-Jewish Identities series
March 28th at 6:00 pm
Interfaith Initiative: Faith, Conflicts and Coalition Series:
In-person discussion with Sander Gilman and Zhou Xun:“I Know Who Caused COVID-19”: Pandemics and Xenophobia
April 17th at 5:30 pm
Yom HaShoah poetry event:
April 18th
With Baruch’s Mishkin Gallery:
Artist Aura Rosenberg’s cinematic interpretations of philosopher Walter Benjamin’s Berlin Childhood Around 1900 and Theses on the Philosophy of History
Screening and Public Conversation featuring:
Aura Rosenberg, Dr. Susan Buck-Morss, CUNY Graduate Center, Dr. Laura López Paniagua, Bard College Berlin
April 27th
An in-person conversation with Ben Moser, Pulitzer-Prize winning author and translator of Susan Sontag: Her Life and Work and Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector
April 27-April 28 (Free streaming)
The Jewish Experience from Basavilbaso to New Amsterdam, dir. Miguel Kohan, 2019
May 11th
Children of the Inquisition, dir. Joseph Lovett, 2019
Free streaming 5/1-5/2 with Zoom director talk back on 5/4 at 6:00 pm
2023 Spring Film Series: Discovering Crypto-Jewish Identities:
Xueta Island, dirs., Dani Rotstein, Ofer Laszewicki and Felipe Wolokita, 2022. Featuring a talk back with the directors, March 15th
The Last Sephardic Jew, dir. Miguel Angel Nieto, 2004
Sefarad, dir. Rodrigo Santos, 2019
Fall Public Events 2022
13 Drivers’ Licenses exhibit and public lecture
October 24th through October 25th
Public lecture with Lisa Salko: October 25th at 6:30 pm (reception to follow)
Engelman Recital Hall, Baruch’s Performing Arts Center (BPAC)
A tribute to Baruch Distinguished Professor Grace Schulman, on the occasion of her retirement and the launch of her new book: Again, the Dawn: New and Selected Poems, 1976-2002
November 3rd at 6:00 pm
Engleman Recital Hall, Baruch’s Performing Arts Center (BPAC)
Zikkaron Kristallnacht: A Family Story, dir. Eugene Marlow, 2015
An in-person talk back with Baruch Professor Eugene Marlow following the screening
November 10th at 6:00 pm
A reading with Roslyn Bernstein, Baruch Professor Emerita, and author of the novel, The Girl Who Counted Numbers
This event will be Professor Bernstein’s first public reading for The Girl Who Counted Numbers
December 8th at 6:00 pm on Zoom
2022-2023 Film Series: Discovering Crypto-Jewish Identities
Fall titles, free 48-hour streaming access
Children of the Inquisition, dir. Joseph Lovett, 2019: October 12th and 13th
Sefarad, dir. Rodrigo Santos, 2019: November 9th and November 10th
1618, dir. Luis Ismael, 2021: December 7th and December 8th
Spring Public Events 2022
Jess Solomon and Eman El-Husseini, the El Salomons: a married Jewish-Palestinian lesbian comedy couple
February 24th at 7:00 EST pm on Zoom
Public lecture with Dr. Madga Teter
Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies and Professor of History, Fordham University
March 30th at 6:30 pm EST on Zoom
Jewish/Latinx Film Series: Spring titles, free 48-hour streamings
co-sponsored by Black and Latinx Studies, the Initiative for the Study of Latin America (ISLA) and
Baruch Performing Arts Center (BPAC)
February: El Brindis, Chile, directed by Shai Agosin, 2007
March: La Amiga, Argentina, directed by Jeanine Meerapfel, 1988
talk-back with the director following the streaming!
April: The Year My Parents Went on Vacation, Brazil, directed by Cao Hamburger, 2006
*exact dates and times for spring films, TBA
Co-sponsored with Baruch’s New Media Artspace, Spring Semester visiting artist: Pinar Yolacan
Public artist lecture by Pinar Yolacan, Tuesday, April 5, 2022 from 6:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. via Zoom, RSVP here.
Born in Ankara, Turkey in 1981, Pinar Yolacan studied fashion at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and Fine Art Media in Chelsea School of Art before graduating from The Cooper Union with a BFA in 2004. Yolacan had solo shows at YKY in Istanbul, Finnish Museum of Photography in Helsinki, Center for Contemporary Art in Lagos, and Wetterling Gallery in Stockholm. Since 1997, reviews about her work regularly appeared in The New York Times, Art in America, ArtReview, Bidoun, Dutch, Rolling Stone and i-D magazines. Yolacan’s work is in the permanent collections of The J. Paul Getty Museum, Museum of Fine Art, Boston, KIASMA Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki and International Center of Photography in New York. Yolacan lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
For More Information
Contact jewish.studies.center@baruch.cuny.edu
Dr. Jessica Lang, Co-Director
jessica.lang@baruch.cuny.edu
Office: Newman Vertical Campus, 7-24
Dr. Sarah Valente, Co-Director
sarah.valente@baruch.cuny.edu
Office: 136 E. 25th Street, #1008
Dr. Carina Pasquesi, Managing Director
carina.pasquesi@baruch.cuny.edu
Office: 136 E. 25th Street, #1008
Please type “JSC” in the notify section.
Thank you for your support!