Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

IMPROVE DISTANT LEARNING AND STUDENT GRANTS FOR FINANCIAL HARDSHIP CAUSED BY COVID-19.

RACE, RELIGION AND AMERICAN JUDAISM: CROSS-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH, PUBLIC SCHOLARSHIP AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT [SCHOLARS ARE INCREASINGLY RECOGNIZING THE COMPLICATED WAYS THAT RELIGION AND RACE INTERTWINE IN AMERICAN SOCIETY. ON THE ONE HAND, RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS SOMETIMES REINFORCE RACIST IDEOLOGIES AND PRACTICES; ON THE OTHER, RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES HAVE LED EFFORTS TO OVERCOME RACISM THROUGH EDUCATION AND ACTIVISM. AMERICAN JEWISH EXPERIENCE OFFERS AN INSTRUCTIVE CASE STUDY IN THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN RACE AND RELIGION BECAUSE JEWISH IDENTITY COMPLICATES PREVAILING CONCEPTIONS OF RACE AND RELIGION AND BECAUSE JEWS HAVE BEEN ?RACED? DIFFERENTLY IN DIFFERENT PERIODS AND SETTINGS. THIS PROJECT WILL ADVANCE SCHOLARSHIP BY FORGING NEW COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH THAT BRINGS JEWISH STUDIES INTO CONVERSATION WITH CRITICAL RACE THEORY. ON THE BASIS OF THIS NEW RESEARCH, WE WILL DEVELOP EDUCATIONAL CURRICULA FOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS THAT ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBLEM OF RACISM, THAT RECOVER NEGLECTED HISTORIES OF JEWS OF COLOR, AND THAT TELL STORIES OF THE ONGOING STRUGGLE FOR RACIAL JUSTICE.] [PURPOSE: THE PURPOSE OF THE GRANT, ?RACE, RELIGION AND AMERICAN JUDAISM: CROSS-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH, PUBLIC SCHOLARSHIP AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT,? IS TO UNDERTAKE NEW INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH ON JEWISH IDENTITY, RACIAL AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY, AND ETHICAL RESPONSES TO RACISM IN AMERICA CONSISTING OF A LECTURE SERIES, ONLINE COURSES, AND A CURRICULUM. ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: THE CENTER FOR JEWISH ETHICS AT THE RECONSTRUCTIONIST RABBINICAL COLLEGE PROJECT WILL EMPLOY 10 HUMANITIES SCHOLARS, TWO CURRICULUM WRITERS, AN INTERN, AND AN INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGNER TO DEVELOP THE ONLINE COURSES BASED ON A LECTURE SERIES AND CURRICULUM FOR ADULTS AND YOUNG PEOPLE EXAMINING RACE, RACISM, AND THE AMERICAN JEWISH EXPERIENCE. EXPECTED OUTCOMES: TEN HUMANITIES SCHOLARS DRAWN FROM DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES AND APPROACHES WILL DELIVER LECTURES. NEXT, ONLINE COURSES WILL BE DEVELOPED BASED ON THE LECTURES, AS WELL AS A CURRICULUM FOR ADULTS AND YOUNG PEOPLE. INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: THE JEWISH COMMUNITY AND THE MEMBER OF THE INTERESTED GENERAL PUBLIC. SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: THE RECIPIENT DOES NOT INTEND TO SUBAWARD FUNDS.]

CONSERVING AND DIGITIZING THE CORRESPONDENCE, SERMONS, AND AN ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT OF THE RABBI MORDECAI M. KAPLAN COLLECTION

TO PROVIDE STUDENT WITH GRANTS DUE TO COVID-19 RELATED FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES.