[Jewish] Fwd: Please Share! Summer Immersion on the Borderlands of Europe

Tue Feb 24 08:47:40 EST 2015

Hi all, 

A fabulous travel opportunity, run by a fabulous Hampshire alum. There
is still a week to apply! 

Best, 

Rachel 

---
Rachel Rubinstein
Associate Professor of American Literature and Jewish Studies
Dean of Academic Support and Advising
Hampshire College
893 West Street
Amherst MA 01002
413.559.5498

-------- Original Message -------- 

		SUBJECT:
 		Please Share! Summer Immersion on the Borderlands of Europe

		DATE:
 		2015-02-23 14:57

		FROM:
 		Mandy Cohen <mindlcohen at gmail.com>

		TO:
 		"rrHACU at hampshire.edu" <rrHACU at hampshire.edu>

Dear Rachel, 

I just realized that I might have forgotten to send you the announcement
about this year's Helix project! I hope you've seen this, but in case
you haven't, please share with any students who might be interested.
There's still a week to apply. 

all the best, 
Mandy

HELIX PROJECT 2015 
This summer, turn those black and white landscapes into IMAX 3D 
Trouble seeing something? view it online [1]. 

Please click here to FORWARD AND SHARE this summer opportunity 
with undergraduate and graduate students. 

 		Helix Project

 		this summer, step out of the classroom and into the streets 

The HELIX PROJECT [2] offers undergraduate and graduate students the
rare opportunity to explore the history of Central and Eastern Europe
through the interdisciplinary lens of Jewish culture. Over three weeks
of travel through Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland, the Helix
Project traverses the historical heartlands of a millennium of Jewish
life in Europe. 

Breaking down barriers between past and present, students are immersed
in everyday cultural life of this fascinating region. The Helix Project
gives unique insight into the pre- and post-Soviet borderlands of the
historical Pale of Settlement, while gaining new understanding of the
complex multi-cultural, multilingual worlds that have existed in these
lands for centuries.
 [3]This is _not_ a trip only for or about Jews. The program approaches
Jewish culture as the product of many different traditions, places, and
ideas across national, ethnic, religious, and cultural lines of all
sorts. The Helix Project explores these messy, joyful, sometimes tragic,
sometimes beautiful realities. And Helix welcomes the participation of
people of all backgrounds. 

 [4]APPLICATIONS [5] for Helix 2015 are due MARCH 2ND.

 We welcome applications from students in all fields, and a background
(personal or academic) in Jewish Studies is not required.

 The PROGRAM [6] begins on July 6, with an intensive week of cultural
and language education in Southern California. Then, students spend the
next two weeks exploring the heart of Jewish Europe, learning and
discussing with leading scholars and with a challenging and inspiring
group of peers. 

CLICK TO SEE [7] WHAT’S IN STORE ON THE HELIX ADVENTURE 

 [8] 

-------------------------
WHAT ARE STUDENTS SAYING ABOUT THE HELIX PROJECT?

  A DYNAMIC PAST & PRESENT

While I did experience history in an intense and personal way, it was
not in the sense I anticipated... I was never simply "transported" as if
in a time machine--without context or historical orientation. Instead,
my fellow Helixers and I functioned as cultural archaeologists,
excavating narratives that cut across place and time. By initially
assuming that I would only be learning about the past, I overlooked the
fact that these countries have thriving, growing cultures today. The
communities in Belarus, Poland, and Lithuania possess complex pasts but
also dynamic presents. In learning about these presents I was able to
better understand the aftermath of the social and political movements
that impacted Jewish life in the 20th century. 

— ELLA • JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY 

  CULTURAL TIME TRAVEL

It was fascinating to be exposed to the vast array of Yiddish creative
minds. This experience was particularly meaningful since we got the
opportunity to visit the places where so many literary figures were
born, grew up, lived, published and, for some, ultimately died.

 The program contextualized their work and helped me to really visualize
what life must have been like for them. Overall, Helix gave me more
clarity on this complex region and provided me with tools to help
reconcile, engage with, and understand the Jewish past and present of
Eastern Europe. It was a special time-warp experience chock full of
music, literature and history that I will cherish. 

— ADAM • BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY 

  DIFFICULT YET VITAL

All of this cultural exploration, of course, presents us with questions
which are just waiting to be investigated. The exploration of these
difficult yet vital questions was a part of Yiddish that, for whatever
reason, seemed to have eluded me. Helix not only brought many of these
issues to the fore for me, it made them tangible. Material aside, it was
the community of students and educators on Helix that really made the
trip what it was. I feel lucky to have shared my Helix experience with
such a widely distinct and hilarious group of peers. We all ended up on
Helix for very different reasons, and it was these various individual
questions, struggles, and triumphs that made the group what it was. 

— MAX • HARVARD DIVINITY SCHOOL 

   THE WAY I WANT MY LIFE TO BE...EVERY DAY 

The most extraordinary thing about the Helix Project is the kind of
world it opens up for students. Where else in the world can you
consciously cross historical, political and linguistic borders every
day? Where else can you start the morning in Belarusian, read Yiddish
poetry through the day, order lunch in Polish and say goodnight in
Lithuanian?

 This is the way I want my life to be every day, and this is the kind of
world that countless Yiddish-speaking activists fought for. For three
stunning weeks the Helix Project makes that a reality, and it leaves us
brimming with possibility. 

— CLARE • MONASH UNIVERSITY 

 [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] 

You are receiving this email because you've either opted in or you can
always blame a friend for signing you up. If this email was sent to you
in error, you can click to unsubscribe [14]. 
(c) 2015 Yiddishkayt, All rights reserved 

 -- 

Mandy Cohen 

Dept of Comparative Literature, UC Berkeley

Links:
------
[1]
http://us3.campaign-archive2.com/?u=f9a4044fbaa4715cb5f7f4b09&id=ffad11d175&e=fd5ce6f364
[2]
http://yiddishkayt.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f9a4044fbaa4715cb5f7f4b09&id=97c0058894&e=fd5ce6f364
[3]
http://us3.forward-to-friend1.com/forward?u=f9a4044fbaa4715cb5f7f4b09&id=ffad11d175&e=fd5ce6f364
[4]
http://yiddishkayt.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f9a4044fbaa4715cb5f7f4b09&id=dc2de11079&e=fd5ce6f364
[5]
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[6]
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[7]
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[8]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyB3nGaFg5o&feature=youtube_gdata_player
[9]
http://yiddishkayt.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f9a4044fbaa4715cb5f7f4b09&id=e7229ca8c5&e=fd5ce6f364
[10]
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[11]
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[12]
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[13]
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[14]
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