Welcome to Jewish Studies
at Tulane University
Chair’s Message
Welcome to Jewish Studies at Tulane, where the Jewish experience is studied in all its breadth, across centuries, continents, languages, and disciplines.
Our faculty’s teaching and research areas span from Hebrew language, biblical studies, the ancient Near East, and medieval Jewish philosophy to Sephardi literature, Holocaust studies, Jewish American history, economic life, sociology, gender and sexuality, and the visual and performing arts. Students learn to read Jewish life through many lenses: a biblical text, a philosophical treatise, a survivor’s account, a census table, a night at the theater.
Our teaching is enriched by deep ties to the New Orleans Jewish community and its institutions, including the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, the National WWII Museum, local synagogues, the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, and the JCC. These partnerships bring students field trips, co-sponsored events, internships, volunteer work, and professional networks. Students also benefit from the rich programmatic offerings and research opportunities of Tulane’s Stuart and Suzanne Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience.
Our faculty are also active in the Southern Jewish Historical Society, the Association for Jewish Studies, and other Jewish Studies organizations that occasionally meet here in New Orleans, with select sessions opened to students and to our local communities. For example, students are welcomed to the keynote address and select panels of the Jewish American & Holocaust Literature (JAHLit) Symposium, which brings leading scholars from around the world to New Orleans each year under my directorship. All of these touchpoints expose students to diverse academic voices and broad-reaching professional networks.
Additionally, Jewish Studies cultivates student leadership through the Lindsay Eliza Wiener Memorial Scholar program, which centers on student-facilitated programming about bridging cross-cultural differences and addressing antisemitism. And we encourage and celebrate student excellence through our senior honors: the Kauffman Essay Contest Award, the Kanter Award for highest GPA, the Lisitzky Memorial Award for perseverance, and the Senior Honors Scholar distinction.
As we continue to grow and move forward, I hope to see our classrooms full of rewarding questions, our events full of engaged neighbors, and our students carrying what they learn here well beyond Tulane’s campus.
Our Impact
Tulane Jewish Studies is nationally recognized for its vitality and vibrancy. In an era where enrollments across the nation are declining, our department stands well above peers. A remarkable one out of every four 2018 graduates enrolled in a Jewish Studies course during their time at Tulane. Moreover, over 750 students enrolled in Jewish Studies and Hebrew courses in the 2017-18 academic year, many of whom also studied abroad in Israel and across the globe. Our impact extends beyond Tulane, as our majors and minors excel in medicine, law, aviation, technology, business, and other competitive fields.
