Online History Courses

JWA presents virtual courses with scholars of Jewish women’s history, delving into the lives, challenges, choices, and innovations of Jewish women who changed our story. Each course is centered on a unique theme and consists of four to six sessions facilitated by experts in the field. Sessions are designed to stand alone, so participants can attend as many evenings as they'd like. No advanced reading or preparation required.

Below are details from past courses. Check back here for information on the August 2021 course, coming soon. (Session recordings are currently only available to those registered for the course. To inquire about access to past recordings, please contact us.)

June 2021—Forgotten Lives

Session 1, Thursday, June 3: Doña Gracia Nasi, with Miriam Bodian, Professor of History and Director of the Institute for Historical Studies at the University of Texas at Austin

Session 2, Thursday, June 10: Stella Heinsheimer Freiberg, with Sarah Berman, Rabbi and Director of Adult Education at Central Synagogue in New York City

Session 3, Thursday, June 17: Miriam Karpilove, with Jessica Kirzane, Editor-in-Chief of In geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies and translator of Miriam Karpilove’s Diary of a Lonely Girl

Session 4, Thursday, June 24: Leslie Feinberg, with Sasha T. Goldberg, who holds a PhD in Gender Studies at Indiana University and an MA in Judaism from The Graduate Theological Union

March 2021—Jewish Women, Race, and Ethnicity in America

Session 1, Thursday, March 4: Multiracial Jews in the Early United States, with Laura Arnold Leibman, Professor of English and Humanities at Reed College

Session 2, Thursday, March 11: Latina Jews in the United States, with Laura Limonic, Associate Professor of Sociology at SUNY Old Westbury

Session 3, Thursday, March 18: Sephardic Women in America, with Devi Mays, Assistant Professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan

Session 4, Thursday, March 25: Black Jewish Women in Contemporary America, with Tema Smith, a diversity advocate, writer, and Jewish community builder

October 2020—Jewish Women's Activism in the United States

Session 1, Thursday, October 1: Jewish Women in the Labor Movement, with Annelise Orleck

Session 2, Thursday, October 8: Jewish Women and the Birth Control Movement, with Melissa Klapper

Session 3, Thursday, October 15: Jewish Women in the Civil Rights Movement, with Debra Schultz

Session 4, Thursday, October 22: Jewish Feminism, with Joyce Antler

Session 5, Thursday, October 29: Jewish Women and LGBTQ Activism, with Marla Brettschneider

Session 6, Thursday, November 5: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Legal Feminism, with Alison Lefkovitz

August 2020—Jewish Women You Thought You Knew (or Never Knew!)

Session 1, Thursday, August 6: Golda Meir, with Francine Klagsbrun

Session 2, Thursday, August 13: Bertha Pappenheim, with Marion Kaplan

Session 3, Thursday, August 20: Sarah Schenirer, with Naomi Seidman

Session 4, Thursday, August 27: Bella Abzug, with Leandra Zarnow

JWA’s online history courses were established with help from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of NEH.