Fairfield University’s Bennett Center for Judaic Studies announces 2015 fall season | Press Releases

Season includes concert at the Quick Center featuring Middle Eastern and Sephardic Music. First event will explore pivotal moments in American Jewish history through the lens of sports, including Sandy Koufax’s decision not to play in the World Series on Yom Kippur in 1965.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (August 7, 2015) — Fairfield University’s Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies has announced its fall 2015 season of public events, beginning Thursday, October 1.

The exciting schedule includes the Daniel Pearl World Music Day Concert with Galeet Dardashti leading Divahn, a renowned all-female ensemble that fuses traditional and original Middle Eastern and Sephardic songs with sophisticated harmonies, entrancing improvisations, and funky arrangements.

In addition, there are anticipated talks by author and playwright Anne Nelson and award-winning scholar Stephen J. Whitfield. The season gets underway with a lecture by historian Jeffrey S. Gurock who will discuss the 50th anniversary of Sandy Koufax’s decision to not play in the World Series on Yom Kippur, just one of several seminal moments for understanding the changing status of Jews in the United States.

The events speak to the Bennett Center’s mission to enrich the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual life of the campus and greater community. Ellen M. Umansky, Ph.D., has served as both the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Professor of Judaic Studies at Fairfield and the director of the Bennett Center since its inception in 1994.

All the events are free except the Jacoby-Lunin Humanitarian Lecture by Charles Best, founder of DonorsChoose.org, the pioneering organization that Fast Company magazine called one of the “50 Most Innovative Companies in the World.”

To reserve seats for the free events or for more information, email bennettcenter@fairfield.edu or call 203-254-4000, ext. 2066. Details about the fall schedule can be found at http://www.fairfield.edu/bennett and below:

“American Jewry’s Historical and Contemporary Scoreboard”
Thursday, October 1, 7:30 p.m., Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J. Center Presentation Room
2015 Judaic Studies Scholar-in-Residence Lecture
Jeffrey S. Gurock, Ph.D., Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish History, Yeshiva University

From baseball legend Sandy Koufax to Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman, a fascinating look at pivotal moments in American Jewish history through the lens of sports.
Complimentary admission.

Daniel Pearl World Music Days Concert
“Galeet Dardashti and Divahn — An Evening of Middle Eastern and Sephardic Music”
Tuesday, October 20, 7:30 p.m., Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts

A concert filled with eclectic Indian, Middle Eastern, and Latin percussion, lush string arrangements and vocals spanning Hebrew, Judeo-Spanish, Persian, Arabic, and Aramaic.
Complimentary admission.

“Making America Harmonious: The Jewish Contribution to Popular Music”
Monday, November 2, 7:30 p.m., Dolan School of Business Dining Room
Stephen J. Whitfield, Ph.D., Max Richter Professor of American Civilization, Brandeis University

An intriguing exploration of how American musical taste was unified from World War I through the Vietnam War by the contributions of Jewish songwriters.
Complimentary admission.

“Donors Choose: Expanding the Possibilities of Education”
Wednesday, November 18, 8 p.m., Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts
Jacoby-Lunin Humanitarian Lecture
Charles Best, Founder and CEO, DonorsChoose.org

An inspiring account of the origins of DonorsChoose.org, a nonprofit organization that provides a simple way to address educational inequity by helping public school teachers.
*Event is co-sponsored by Open VISIONS Forum. Tickets are $45. For tickets contact the Quick Center Box Office at 203-254-4010.

“Germans Who Stood Up to Hitler: The Resistance Movements of Nazi Germany”
Tuesday, December 1, 7:30 p.m., Dolan School of Business Dining Room

Adolph and Ruth Schnurmacher Lecture in Judaic Studies
Anne Nelson, author of Red Orchestra: The Story of the Berlin Underground and the Circle of Friends Who Resisted Hitler, adjunct faculty member of Columbia University

The history of anti-Nazi Germans was sadly distorted by Cold War politics, obscuring their deeds and their sacrifices. This talk will present some of the new research that is bringing these dramatic stories of courage and compassion to light.
Complimentary admission.