Hasia Diner | “Who Made American Judaism? A History of Ordinary Leaders”

Hasia Diner | “Who Made American Judaism? A History of Ordinary Leaders” Thursday, October 30, 2025, 4:00 pmCader Room, Swartz Hall 117, Harvard Divinity School HASIA DINER, Visiting Professor of Jewish Studies at HDS, is Professor Emerita at the Departments of History and the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University,…

Middle East Dialogues: A Conversation with Ehud Olmert

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Middle East Dialogues: A Conversation with Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Thursday, October 23 at 6:00PM, JFK Jr. Forum, Harvard Kennedy School  Join the Harvard Kennedy School’s Middle East Initiative (MEI) and the Institute of Politics for a conversation between MEI Faculty Chair Professor Tarek Masoud and H.E. Ehud Olmert, former Prime Minister of Israel 2006-2009. This event is…

Paul Kosmin Wins AHA Award

Paul Kosmin has been awarded the American Historical Association 2025 Prize in History Prior to CE 1000 Professor Kosmin, the Philip J. King Professor of Ancient History and Interim Chair of the Department of the Classics at Harvard University, has won the prize for his book The Ancient Shore (Harvard University Press, 2024). The prize will…

Jewish Studies Spring 2026 Courses Page is now Live!

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Spring 2026 course registration starts on Nov. 5, 2025, and Crimson Carts are already open! Not sure which Jewish studies course to take? Can’t find out what’s available? Looking for a language class? Browse the new our Spring 2026 Courses webpage to see a complete list of Harvard’s Jewish studies course offerings….

Graduate Student Call for Papers: Thinking Beyond Boundaries in Jewish Studies

The Jewish Studies Graduate Student Association at Indiana University Call for Papers: Thinking Beyond Boundaries in Jewish Studies Conference Date: February 5th and 6th, 2026, in-person Location: The Bloomington campus of Indiana University. Application Deadline: November 7, 2025…

Unabridged 2026 – now accepting applications

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Unabridged – A Library Research Intensive  for graduate students post-docs, fellows, and faculty The Harvard Libraries are now accepting applications for the January 2026 cohort of Unabridged: A Library Research Intensive. The program is open to graduate students, including in the professional schools, as well as post-docs, fellows, and faculty.  The Unabridged 2026 January Program will meet in person January…

Upcoming Events at the CJS

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We invite you to join us for these exciting talks: October 16, 4:00 pmAdolphus Busch Hall, Lower Level Conference Room Michelle Goldberg in Conversation with Derek Penslar October 20, 5:30 pmThe Plimpton Room, Barker Center Ayelet Gundar-Goshen | “The Healing Power of Stories” November 4, 4:15 pmThe Thompson Room, Barker Center Steven J. Zipperstein |…

2025 Harry and Cecile Starr Prize Winning Theses

This year, the Center for Jewish Studies awarded four students with the Harry and Cecile Starr Prize in Jewish Studies. The Prize is by faculty member nomination only, for an outstanding senior thesis or Ph.D. dissertation in Jewish and Hebrew studies by a Harvard student. Best Doctoral dissertation in the field of Jewish and Hebrew…

Professor David Stern’s First Year Seminar featured in the Harvard Gazette

Professor David Stern’s course, FYSEMR 62J: “Harvard’s Greatest Hits: The Most Important, Rarest, and Most Valuable Books in Houghton Library” was featured in a Harvard Gazette article highlighting some of the College’s most noteworthy classes. To view the courses offered by Professor Stern and other courses in Jewish studies in the Spring 2026 semester, visit…