C A R O L I N A C E N T E R f o r J E W I S H S T U D I E S

T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F N O R T H C A R O L I N A AT C H A P E L H I L L • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0 • C C J S . U N C . E D U

NewsfromtheCenter

C O AT E S H A L L • C A M P U S B O X 3 1 5 2 • C H A P E L H I L L , N C 2 7 5 9 9 - 3 1 5 2 • 9 1 9 - 9 6 2 - 1 5 0 9

Shalom Y’all… Exploring the Jewish Experience in the American South

One of Carolina’s unique academic strengths is itsexpertise in the history of the Jewish South, and how, overtime, Jewish southerners have blended their regional south-ern identities with their religious and cultural identities.

Professor Marcie Cohen Ferris offers a compelling, andvery popular, course to Carolina students who want to learnmore about “the braided identity” of Jewish Southerners.In her American Studies “Shalom Y’all” course this fall, 30 students are learning how Jewish settlers forged relation-ships with white and black gentile southerners, their loyaltyto the South as a region, and their embrace of southern culture.

“By tracing the history of Jewish southerners from the colonial era to the present, we’re exploring Jewish contributions to the intellectual, political, economic, artisticand religious cultures,” explained Ferris. “Using archivalresources from the Southern Historical Collection, we canbetter understand what it means to be Jewish in this uniqueAmerican region.”

Topics for the course range from Colonial Era Savannahand Georgia Jewry and Birth of the Reform Movement in Charleston, to Southern Jews and Slavery, JewishConfederates, Antisemitism: Southern Style (the Leo Frankstory), and Matzoh Ball Gumbo: Culinary Tales of theJewish South.

Readings for the course include personal stories such as Emma Mordecai’s diary (1864-65); Alfred Uhry’s play“Driving Miss Daisy;” and “The Provincials,” a personal history of Jews in the South written by the Center’s founding chair, Eli N. Evans, ’58.

“I created this course to enrich the academic offerings inboth Jewish Studies and American Studies, and to provide

undergraduates with unique opportunities for scholarshipand research,” added Ferris. This semester, her students areexploring topics from family history to southern Jewish fiction to the Hollywood and New York Jewish songwritersand producers who mythologized the “Old South” in popularmusic and film in the 1920s.

Other courses and events held throughout the year bring the topic of the Jewish South to our students and the greater community. The Center hosts a popular public

event each year that focuses exclusively on this topic. This year’s Sylvia and Irving Margolis Lecture on theJewish Experience in the American South event was a filmscreening of “Down Home: Jewish Life in North Carolina”followed by a panel discussion. Held in October, the eventwas part of the Southern Jewish Historical Society’s 2010conference hosted at UNC, titled “Coming to Carolina:Jewish Life in an Evolving South.” In addition to the filmscreening, the four-day conference included presentations by several of the Center’s faculty and brought many otherexperts to campus.

In 1998, at age 10, T. Fielder Valone, Jr. was on a family trip that changed his life forever. While visiting Belize, the family decided to take aquick trip into neighboring Guatemala, despite thepolitical unrest in that country at the time. Thesightseeing trip took an unpleasant turn, whentheir van was surrounded on a remote mountainroad and the family was held at gunpoint. Theirdramatic escape, made while driving in reversedown the twisty, narrow road, introduced Valoneto the feeling of terror and the experience of being a victim.

Nearly 10 years later, while doing late-nightresearch for his Holocaust course with ProfessorChristopher Browning, Valone suddenly connectedwith the reports of other victims, who realized terror as a constant reality, not just for a few minutes while traveling.

“I suddenly understood the wider implicationsof facing terror, of being a victim,” said Valone.“As I worked on my paper for the Holocaust course,I developed an intellectual passion to really delveinto the subject.”

Valone, a History and American Studies major,is the first recipient of the Elsie Kaplan “MotherShapiro” ZBT Undergraduate Research and Travelgrant in Jewish Studies. He used the funding tohelp cover expenses for a month-long research tripin New York City this past July. There, he averagedsix hours a day examining eyewitness testimonies of Lithuanian-Jewish survivors of genocide, collected immediately after World War II and nowarchived at YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

As an interesting twist, he was only able topursue his research project because ProfessorJonathan Boyarin, associate director of the Center,had translated the documents from Yiddish toEnglish a few years ago. There are 2,000 pages of handwritten testimonies in total, but Valonedecided to focus on those from three rural countieson what was then the Lithuanian-German border.

The testimonials were recorded by a Holocaustsurvivor who visited displaced person campusbetween 1946 and 1948.

“The records are very detailed and organized,exploring pre-war and post-war life in addition tothe victims’ experiences during the war years,”explained Valone. “A couple weeks after startingwork, I was able to meet with Professor Boyarinand really talk through everything I was learningabout. It was difficult to get through the testimoni-als, the accounts were very brutal, they told aboutneighbor against neighbor, and it was large scale. I really couldn’t chat about it with friends.”

Back in Chapel Hill for his last year, he is busyturning his numerous legal pads worth of notesand hundreds of pages of photocopies into his senior honors thesis.

“This fall, I have about 3,000 pages of addition-al background reading to do, and then I need to fin-ish the first draft of my paper by January,” Valoneexplained. “I figure this project is good practice for graduate school, to see if I really enjoy doingsustained intellectual research and to see if writing a dissertation is something I’d like to do.”

Valone serves as the student representative on the Center’s Advisory Board this year. Aftergraduation this May, he plans to pursue a Ph.D. inModern German History and further his researchefforts after taking a year off. He is hoping tospend his gap year in Germany, doing the mirrorimage of his senior thesis research— reviewingthe testimonials of war criminals who were inLithuania.

Private support for undergraduate researchinitiatives and graduate student fellowships helpsnurture young scholars, create relevant scholarlyworks, and further Carolina’s commitment to student-focused research. For more information,contact Margaret Costley at the Arts and SciencesFoundation at (919) 843-0345 or at margaret.cost-ley@unc.edu.

student profile

T. Fielder Valone, Jr., ’11

T. Fielder Valone(seated at front, onright) met with theCenter’s Advisory

Board members inApril 2010 to give an

overview of hisresearch project.

“I suddenly understood the wider

implications of facing terror, of being a victim.”

Dr. Jonathan M. HessDirector, Carolina Center for Jewish Studies

Moses M. and Hannah L. MalkinDistinguished Term Professor of Jewish

History and Culture

Professor, Department of GermanicLanguages and Literatures

jmhess@email.unc.edu(919) 962-4866

from the director’s desk

Renowned Speakers Visit Chapel Hill

The primary mission of the Carolina Centerfor Jewish Studies is to integrate the study ofJewish history and culture into the more generalacademic mission of the College of Arts andSciences. Over the course of thepast seven years, we’ve sought toaccomplish this mission in a variety of ways. We’ve hired newfaculty in several academicdepartments. We’ve developed aslate of course offerings inJewish Studies that reachesmore than 1,000 students eachyear. For students wishing tospecialize, we’ve developed anundergraduate minor, and weare hard at work on getting anundergraduate major on thebooks.

Private support has beencrucial for all these efforts. Andprivate support has enabled usnot just to educate our own stu-dents. It’s made it possible for us create a vibrantpublic events program that helps fulfill Carolina’smission as one of the nation’s premier public universities. Through our public outreach effortswe send our own faculty to lecture throughout the state, and we enrich our own community inChapel Hill through a dynamic lecture series oncampus.

We kicked off our public events program inlate September with a captivating lecture byRichard Elliott Friedman exploring the end ofpolytheism and the emergence of monotheism inancient Israel. Friedman, one of our generation’sleading authorities on the Hebrew Bible, is ascholar whose works are widely read both insideand outside the academy. Not surprisingly,

hundreds came out for the event — students, faculty, and members of the broader community.

Just two weeks after Friedman’s visit to campus, we were proud to cosponsor the moving

lecture that Elie Wiesel gave to apacked house in Memorial Hall.Later in October, we presented ascreening of the new documen-tary film, Down Home: JewishLife in North Carolina, followed by a panel discussion. This eventcoincided with the annual meet-ings of the Southern JewishHistorical Society in Chapel Hill,and it was an honor for us to haveleading scholars of the Jewishexperience in the American Southgather in Chapel Hill.

If you’ll be in Chapel Hill onDecember 6, let me invite you tocome join us for Hasia Diner’scommunity lecture. Diner, one of the most distinguished

American Jewish historians working today, willbe discussing how American Jewry dealt with the tragedy of the Holocaust in the immediateaftermath of World War II.Diner’s topic derives from arecently published book thatseeks to debunk the myththat American Jews in the1950s were silent about theHolocaust. We expect a fullhouse for this event, and wehope to see you there!

As always, let me thank all of you who’ve supported us in the past for your tremendous generosity. Please know how much your support is appreciated by all of us here on campus.

news briefsDIANA BLOOM, ’11, a GermanLanguage and Literature major,received a grant from the GermanAcademic Exchange Service to conduct research on Jewish-Gentile relations in the FrankfurterJudengasse, the Frankfurt Jewishghetto, during the Fettmilch uprising.

STEVEN WERLIN, who is completinghis Ph.D. in Religious Studies, wasawarded the 2010 Hershel ShanksPrize from the Biblical ArchaeologySociety. The award is given based onhis academic paper entitled “Appetitefor Destruction? The ArchaeologicalEvidence for Jewish Iconoclasm.”

A VIDEO highlighting the activities of the Center and Jewish Studies was recently completed. To view the video, visit our Web site atccjs.unc.edu. We hope you’ll sharethe video with family, friends and colleagues who may be interested in learning more about the Center.

FACEBOOK 100: The Centeris on Facebook and recentlyreached 100 fans. To becomea fan, visit our Web site and click on the Facebook icon, or simplysearch “Carolina Jewish Studies” onFacebook. The Center hopes to reach200 fans this academic year — if youare already a fan, please suggest ourFacebook page to family and friends.

Private support has

enabled us not just

to educate our own

students. It’s made it

possible for us create a

vibrant public events

program that helps

fulfill Carolina’s

mission as one of

the nation’s premier

public universities.

Cornerstone Society ($25,000 and above)

Gary J. and Lori KaminskyRoslyn, NY

Gary S. and Beth D. KaminskyHaverford, PA

Carol and Seymour LevinGreensboro, NC

Hannah L. MalkinSun City Center, FL

David M. RubensteinWashington, DC

Chancellors’ Circle ($10,000 to $24,999)

Huddy and Jerry CohenKennebunkport, ME

Stuart E. EizenstatChevy Chase, MD

Jonathan B. and Edith FassbergNew York, NY

Mr. and Mrs. N. Jay GouldNew York, NY

Fred N. and Janice L. KahnAsheville, NC

Arlene R. and Robert P. KogodArlington, VA

Hal and Holly LevinsonCharlotte, NC

Gary R. and Sandra M. SmileySpartanburg, SC

Carolina Society($5,000 to $9,999)

Anonymous (2)

Eli N. EvansNew York, NY

Sue and Sandy GreenbergWashington, DC

James B. and Susan H. PittlemanMcLean, VA

Linda and Peter F. SpiesNew York, NY

Mitchell S. SteirNew York, NY

1793 Society($2,000 to $4,999)

Michael D. Barnes and Joan C. PollittChevy Chase, MD

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Cone, Jr.Greensboro, NC

Brian and Erin EizenstatNew York, NY

Alan S. and Gail M. Fields,Lexington, MA

Stanley H. Fox and JoAnn H. Pizer-FoxOxford, NC

Leonard GoodmanNew York, NY

Drew and Marjorie LevinsonNew York, NY

Eugene and Saralyn OberdorferLongboat Key, FL

Toby B. OsofskyWyckoff, NJ

Sandra D. and Stephen A. RichChapel Hill, NC

Marion and Stanley RobboyChapel Hill, NC

Donald and Linda SchlengerJupiter, FL

Mary P. SchochetChapel Hill, NC

A. Jay and Joyce SchwartzAtlanta, GA

Alan H. WeinhouseNew York, NY

Louise W. WienerWashington, DC

2010 honor roll of donorsto the Carolina Center for Je

thank you!The Carolina Center for Jewish Studies in UNC’sCollege of Arts and Sciences gratefully thanks thedonors who have supported its students, faculty, andprograms during the University’s most recent fiscalyear, which ran from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.The Center’s Honor Roll recognizes donors whomade gifts during this period to support its expend-able or endowed funds and whose gifts qualify themfor membership in the following giving societies:

• Cornerstone Society $25,000 and above• Chancellors’ Circle $10,000 and above• Carolina Society $5,000 to $9,999• 1793 Society $2,000 to $4,999• Dean’s Circle* $1,500 to $1,999

Gifts made by young alumni qualify for the Dean’sCircle when they meet the following criteria:

• Gifts of $1,000 or more from those who graduated 6 to 10 years ago

• Gifts of $500 or more from those who graduated within the past 5 years

The Honor Roll does not include pledge balances,bequests, or other planned gifts to the Center for Jewish Studies. This list has been preparedwith great care to ensure its accuracy. To report a mistake, please contact Margaret Costley at (919) 843-0345 or Margaret.Costley@unc.edu.

Thank you, once again, for generously supportingthe work of the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies.

“We are enormously grateful to these donors whose generosity will

Dean’s Circle ($1,500 to $1,999)

Jay and Jessica EizenstatSilver Spring, MD

Matthew and Shanna HockingHavertown, PA

Albert MarxAtlanta, GA

Peter W. and Barbara J. SchneiderAtlanta, GA

Shirley SiegelChapel Hill, NC

Lori B. Wittlin and Bradley LewisArlington, VA

Corporations, Foundations, and Trusts

Asher FoundationNew York, NY

Beth Israel Federated CharitiesFayetteville, NC

Charles H. Revson Foundation

Combined Jewish PhilanthropiesBoston, MA

Community Foundation for Greater AtlantaAtlanta, GA

Community Foundation of Greater ChattanoogaChattanooga, TN

Community Foundation of Greater MemphisMemphis, TN

Covington & Burling LLPWashington, DC

Cumberland Community FoundationFayetteville, NC

Edward Silver Investments, Ltd.High Point, NC

Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund

Cincinnati, OH

Foundation for the CarolinasCharlotte, NC

Goldman Sachs Philanthropy FundClifton Park, NY

Greater Saint Louis Community FoundationAtlanta, GA

Gulf Coast Community Foundation/VeniceVenice, FL

Janney Montgomery Scott LLCPhiladelphia, PA

Jewish Communal FundNew York, NY

Jewish Community Foundation of Metrowest NJWhippany, NJ

Jewish Community Foundation of South Palm BeachBoca Raton, FL

Jewish Federation of Greater AtlantaAtlanta, GA

Jewish Foundation of GreensboroGreensboro, NC

Lucius N. Littauer FoundationNew York, NY

Packaging Products CorporationChapel Hill, NC

Robert P. & Arlene R. Kogod FamilyFoundation, Arlington, VA

The Seymour and Carol Levin FoundationGreensboro, NC

The Trout Group LLCNew York, NY

William & Patricia Gorelick FamilyFoundationCharlotte, NC

wish Studies

l impact Carolina students for generations to come.” — JONATHAN HESS

unrestricted givingGenerous gifts to the Center in recentmonths will provide ongoing, crucialdiscretionary support for JewishStudies. By supporting the director'sfund with permanent endowments, thegifts will help fund top priority needs,ranging from instructional support, toenrichment offerings for students, to faculty support, to course developmentgrants. Endowment funds provide a permanent source of support since theprincipal is held in perpetuity, while the fund’s annual earnings benefit theCenter’s mission.

Recent gifts to the fund were made byGary J. Kaminsky and Lori Kaminsky,who created the Gary J. and LoriKaminsky Endowment Fund for

Jewish Studies, and Jeffrey A. Gorelickand Bari L. Gorelick, who formed TheJeffrey A. and Bari L. Gorelick Fund

for Excellence in Jewish Studies.

“Unrestricted giving to the Center isenormously beneficial because it pro-vides flexibility to use the funds to meetthe year’s most pressing needs,” saidJonathan Hess, director. “We are enor-mously grateful to these donors whosegenerosity will impact Carolina studentsfor generations to come.”

As the first semester of our academic year comes to a close and I think back overthese last few months, I am reminded of thethings that make Carolina great— our engagedand enthusiastic students, our talented anddedicated faculty, and our committed alumni.Each of these groups is critical to makingCarolina the best it can be.

I want to thank each of you for your commitment to the Carolina Center for JewishStudies, which continues to grow and expandits reach. We have a first-rate faculty, a wonder-ful speakers series that brings great minds tocampus to help us broaden our understanding,and students eager to learn. This year we werefortunate to hire David Lambert, a scholar ofHebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism.This fall he is teaching Introduction to theHebrew Bible.

As friends of the Carolina Center forJewish Studies, your support has made the difference in the success of this program andwill continue to be the critical factor in howwell we progress into the future. We all knowthat these are tough economic times. Despitethis, you have stepped up and continued to support this Center, making it possible for usto hire additional faculty at a time when veryfew faculty hires were authorized, to add cours-es, and to offer outreach to the community.

Annual support for the Center for

Jewish Studies makes the differencebetween a successfulyear in which wegrow and advance ourprogram, versus onein which we treadwater or even fallbehind. I hope thatyou agree with methat this is a worthyinvestment of your money and your energies,and that you will renew your annual supportfor the Center this year. You may use theenclosed envelope to make your gift or make asecure gift online at ccjs.unc.edu.

If you have questions about how to make a gift, how to use appreciated securitiesto make your gift, or how to establish a perma-nent endowment for Jewish Studies, pleasecontact Margaret Costley at the Arts andSciences Foundation at (919) 843-0345 or at margaret.costley@unc.edu.

Carolina and the Center for JewishStudies will always endeavor to be worthy ofyour support.

Sincerely,

Karen M. GilDean, College of Arts and Sciences

Carolina Center for Jewish StudiesCoates Hall, Campus Box 3152Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3152

Non Profit OrgUS PostagePA I D

Permit 177Chapel Hill NC

winter 2010

a closing word

message from the dean

UPCOMING EVENTS

COMMUNITY LECTURES

Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m.HASIA DINERFitting Memorials

Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m.ETHAN BRONNERThe Israeli-Palestinian Dispute

April 10, 7:00 p.m.TONY KUSHNERArt, Community and Culture

ACADEMIC LECTURES

Jan. 24, 5:30 p.m.OMAR KAMILConflicting Memories – The Arabs and the Holocaust

March 21, 5:30 p.m.DAN DINERThe Transformation of the Jews:1750-1950

Please visit our Web site at ccjs.unc.edufor more event information. If you’dlike to receive updates about upcomingevents, please join our listserv by email-ing us at ccjs@unc.edu. In the email message, please provide both youremail and mailing addresses.