Jewish Cultural Arts – From Under the Fig Tree

Musings

joselitMay 6, 2019May 6, 2019Leave a comment

One of the loveliest exhibitions I’ve seen all year was “Hymn to Apollo: The Ancient World and the Ballets Russes,” at NYU’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World. A bijoux of a show, its carefully selected array of artifacts, costumes, drawings and photographs explores the ways in which the arts of the ancient world impinged on, and freed, the imagination of the modern artists, choreographers, dancers and composers associated with the fabled Ballets Russes.

Delaunay Cleopatre — Sonia Delaunay. Costume Design for the Title Role of Cléopâtre. 1918. Metropolitan Museum of Art/NYU Institute for the Study of the Ancient World

The lively intelligence of the exhibition’s curators, Clare Fitzgerald and Rachel Herschman, made itself felt throughout, resulting in an exhibition that was fresh, smart and affecting.

“Hymn to Apollo” also put me in mind of the power of art to create a community of the likeminded, a timely reminder as the academic year, and with it, GW’s graduate programs in the Jewish cultural arts, draws to a close.

While no would-be Diaghilevs or Nijinskys were among this year’s students, I hold out the hope that the training they received in how to think about, conjure up and implement Jewish culture will keep them on their toes as they move out into the world.

Shop talk

joselitAugust 8, 2018August 8, 2018Leave a comment

Calling all culture mavens.

Intrigued by Jewish culture? Curious about what goes on behind the scenes? Gung ho about the opportunities it presents for both personal and communal engagement?

You're in luck. GW has just the program: a four course (12 credit) boutique learning experience called the Graduate Certificate in Jewish Cultural Arts. It's designed to deepen your understanding of Jewish cultural expression and to sharpen your skills as an advocate and proponent of the arts.

Its wide-ranging courses consider the often confounding complexities of contemporary Jewish life as well as the history of famous and infamous museum exhibitions about the Jews and Judaism; explore changing responses to such classic milestones as The Diary of Anne Frank and Fiddler on the Roof and take note of the music scene in the United States, Europe and Israel.

For more details, please visit this site or contact me, Jenna Weissman Joselit, at this email address.

A world of comedy, dance, exhibitions, film, music, theater, television and visual expression awaits.

‘Tis the season

joselitNovember 9, 2014November 16, 2017Leave a comment

Now that the Jewish holidays have come and gone, it’s time to start thinking about what lies ahead. In the event that graduate school is in your future -- or that of someone you know -- I hope you might give some thought to enrolling in an exciting new program at GW: the M.A. in Jewish Cultural Arts.

You’ll forgive me for sounding like a proud parent, or, worse still, like a shameless self-promoter, when I sing the praises of this enterprise, now in its second year. It’s the real deal. Taking advantage of everything that D.C. has to offer -- smart and savvy people, gratifying internships and culture, culture, culture just about everywhere you turn -- the M.A. in Jewish Cultural Arts makes learning both fun and meaningful. Better yet, the program sees to it that its students shine.

Who can ask for anything more?

Send us your sons and daughters, your grandchildren, your nieces and nephews as well as your neighbor’s kids.

Great opportunities await!

Attention Span

joselitJanuary 19, 2012November 16, 2017Leave a comment

When it comes to spreading the news, people have beat the drum, cued the trumpets, shouted from the mountaintop, taken to the airwaves and telegraphed their intentions.

And so it is with this video, which brings word of our brand new enterprise: GW’s MA in Jewish Cultural Arts.