APPLICATION DEADLINE: 2022 Annual Seminar on Ethics, Religion, and the Holocaust

Theological Encounters of Race, Antisemitism, and the Holocaust in Transatlantic Context

June 17-24, 2022 | Virtual

The 2022 Annual Faculty Seminar on Ethics, Religion, and the Holocaust will examine the multifaceted encounters between Black American Christians and Jews in both the United States and Europe from the 1920s to the present. We will consider both the personal interactions and trans-Atlantic experiences of Black Christians and Jews in the years before, during, and after the Holocaust, as well as the transnational circulation of ideas that shaped Christian and Jewish theological understandings of and responses to persecution.

Topics will include: the ways in which both Jews and Black Americans have had commonalities of experiences of persecution based on Christian theological principles; how cross-cultural experiences of religious leaders such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr. shaped their views of their own communities; the responses of some European Jewish refugees, such as Abraham Joshua Heschel, to the Black church and civil rights movement; and how Black theologians have engaged the history of antisemitism and the Holocaust.

The seminar will be led by Dr. Beverly Mitchell, Professor of Systematic Theology and Church History, C.C. Goen and Douglas R. Chandler Church History Chair at Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC and Dr. Benjamin Sax, Jewish Scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies, Baltimore, MD.

Seminar Format:

The seminar will be conducted entirely online through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous elements over five days between June 17 and June 24, 2022 (June 20 is a holiday). Participants can expect to attend no more than four hours of synchronous sessions in the virtual classroom per day (June 17; 21-24, 2022). Additional daily asynchronous activities will include independent readings, pre-recorded lectures, and online forums. Opportunities for informal networking and small-group meetings will be facilitated via the seminar’s digital platform. A full agenda and reading list will be provided one month before the start of the seminar through the Seminar’s digital platform.

Eligibility:

Applications are welcome from professors, instructors, and advanced doctoral students who are currently teaching or preparing to teach courses that could potentially integrate the Holocaust and related topics into their lectures, assignments, activities, or campus events (teaching an entire course on the Holocaust is not required). We welcome applicants from any religious tradition or denominational affiliation. Clergy and religious professionals who are engaged in adult Christian education or part-time teaching will be considered. Faculty based in institutions outside North America will also be considered if they meet the criteria above.

Admission will be determined without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information or reprisal. The Museum also prohibits any form of workplace discrimination or harassment.

Application Details:

Applications must include: (1) a curriculum vitae; (2) a statement of the applicant’s specific interest in strengthening their knowledge of the seminar’s topics, and Holocaust Studies more broadly, for the purpose of teaching (500 words) (3) a letter of support from a dissertation advisor, departmental chair, or dean addressing the applicant’s qualifications; and (4) a draft syllabus on a topic that could potentially incorporate any of the topics that the seminar will address.

Participants must commit to attending the entire seminar. A complete syllabus will be made available to participants in advance of the program. Participants who complete all components of the seminar will receive a $500 honorarium.

Applications must be submitted by April 18, 2022 and can be submitted online. Letters of support may be uploaded electronically or sent directly to Julia Liden, Program Coordinator, at jliden@ushmm.org. Applicants will be notified of the results of the selection process by April 25th.

Click here for more information and to apply.

This workshop is made possible by the Hoffberger Family Fund and by Joseph A. and Janeal Cannon and Family.