Jewish history and culture course. The Jewish Experience in Poland. A course on Jewish culture, Jewish history, Polish Jews in Poland, and Jewish-Polish relations in Poland. Jewish Studies course in Poland given by the Cracovia Academy of Polish Language and Culture in Krakow (Cracow). Jewish Holocaust history. Holocaust Studies. History of the Jewish people in Poland offered in Krakow (Cracow).

Bimah in Kazimierz Old Synagogue in Krakow (Cracow)

For almost 800 years Jewish religion and culture flourished in Poland. Our 2-week seminar-styled course on Jewish history and culture in Poland will be led by Professor Robert Cohn. Dr. Cohn currently holds the Philip and Muriel Berman Chair in Jewish Studies at Lafayette College in Easton PA.

Jewish Experience in Poland Syllabus Page Title

"The Jewish Experience in Poland" will be a seminar style history and culture course where active student participation will be encouraged. This will not be a conventional history course where students will be solely be lectured to, but rather, students will be led to exchange views, debate and take on a primary role in discussions.

This seminar course includes a significant field component. Many lectures will take place "on-site" where students will explore the vestiges and imprints of Jewish history and culture first hand; from ancient Krakow and the centuries old former Jewish enclave of Kazimierz to Tarnow, Warsaw and the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration/death camps.

Jewish Doors Inside Remu'h Synagogue in Kazimierz district of Krakow (Cracow)

We are proud to have an expert academic with extensive teaching experience and knowledge of the subject matter, leading our courses. The program will be taught in English by Professor Robert Cohn of the USA. Dr. Cohn currently holds the Philip and Muriel Berman Chair in Jewish Studies at Lafayette College in Easton PA. and has also taught at Pennsylvania State University and Northwestern University .Dr. Cohn has authored two books, 2 Kings (Liturgical Press, 2000) and The Shape of Sacred Space (Scholars Press, 1981), co-edited The Other in Jewish Thought and History: Constructions of Jewish Culture and Identity (NYU Press, 1994), and coauthored Exploring the Hebrew Bible (Prentice Hall, 1988). He has also published many articles and book reviews in biblical and religious studies journals and has delivered papers at professional conferences in the USA and in Israel, Poland, Germany and England .

This special course on the Jewish cultural and historical experience in Poland, will be offered during one session only during the summer of 2006 [July 02 - July 16]. The class size will be from 12-20 students. That is, this course has LIMITED ENROLLMENT. This will ensure a rich learning environment for course participants, from individualized attention to ensuring an healthy group social dynamic.

Below is an overview of the tentative syllabus for this 2-week seminar and field course. Further lecture and activity details as well as a suggested reading list will be appended shortly:

The Jewish Experience in Poland

July 02 - July 16 2006 in Krakow, Poland

Sun. July 02 - Arrival in Krakow (accommodation check-in)

Mon. Registration - Jews in Old Poland: From Settlement to Partition (social and economic history) - Opening Welcome Dinner

Tue. Jewish Spirituality: Hasidim and Mitnagdim (religious life)

Wed. The shtetl - Trip to Wolbrom

Thu. Haskalah: modernity in Poland and the Jews (Zionism, Yiddish culture) - Tour of Kazimierz

Fri. Poles and Jews in the thirties (politics, antisemitism, Jews in Polish culture)

Sat. Tour of Tarnow

Sun. Free Day (there will be some organized social/tour activities)

Mon. Poles and Jews in the Holocaust (victims, witnesses and rescuers, Warsaw Ghetto revolt, Warsaw Uprising) - Tour of Plaszow

Tue. Tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau and a visit to the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oswiecim (inlcluding visits to the Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue, the Jewish Culturl and Educational Centre and the Klieger House Historic Museum)

Wed. Poles and Jews under communism (antisemitic eruptions, Jews in Polish collective memory)

Thu. Jews and Judaism in contemporary Poland

Fri. Tour of Warsaw ( Rapaport Monument , Umschlagplatz, Warsaw Uprising Memorial, etc)

Sat. Shabbat in Warsaw (Nozyk Synagogue, Lauder Center ) - Closing Farewell Dinner

Sun. July 16 - Depart (accommodation check-out)

NOTE: This course also includes a Krakow tourist program. Students will be treated to guided tours of places of important historical and cultural interest in Krakow and Kazimierz. Students will enjoy guided walking tours of the Old Town of Krakow with an experienced guide, visiting museums, galleries, key buildings and monuments. We will also have a social events coordinator who will keep you informed of and organize outings for the group to interesting and fun daily events in Krakow, including: live concerts, recitals, plays, dinners, pubs, etc.

For information on registration, accommodation and fees for "The Jewish Experience in Poland", click here.

A KRAKOW SURVIVAL GUIDE: WHERE TO EAT, DRINK & PLAY IN KRAKOW
Warsaw-Life Gdansk-Life Zakopane-Life