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  • Senior Research

    Seniors present their research at an event each spring.

  • Rare Book Room Bird's-Eye View

    Students in Professor Beth Wenger's Jewish history class enjoying the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.

  • Moldovan Jewish Scribe

    "Photograph of a Jewish scribe, ca. 1917." From the Moldovan Family Collection of Judaica, University of Pennsylvania Libraries.

Welcome

Our program reflects the full range and diverse dimensions of the Jewish experience as well as different approaches to studying Jewish life and culture. We welcome students of all backgrounds to take our courses and participate in our programs. We also offer a host of opportunities outside the classroom. Come join us!

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The Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies

The Katz Center is driven by the mission to deepen and broaden the understanding of Jewish history, texts, cultures, ideas, and experiences. The research it supports spans all periods of Jewish history, from distant antiquity through to the present day; it reaches into every part of the globe where Jews have lived, and it is grounded in a wide range of disciplines and approaches. 

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Events



Incantation: The Embodied Aleph-Bet

Victoria Hanna, Simcha Gross
Sep 10, 2024 at - | Widener Lecture Hall, Penn Museum, 3260 Spruce Street, Philadelphia

Vocal artist Victoria Hanna brings new life to ancient text through sonic interpretations of Jewish mystical and magical traditions centered on Hebrew letters. She approaches the aleph-bet with…



Hebrew Book Talk

Consolation to My Mother
Sep 11, 2024 at - | Claudia Cohen Hall 2nd floor lounge

The Jewish Studies Program invites all Hebrew-speaking members of our community to a book talk with author and Penn PhD candidate Asaf Roth on his recent novel, …



Traces of a Jewish Artist: The Lost Life and Work of Rahel Szalit

Kerry Wallach
Nov 11, 2024 at - | Wolf Conference Room

Speaker: Kerry Wallach is Associate Professor & Chair of German Studies, and Affiliate Faculty in the Jewish Studies Program at
Gettysburg College. She will be speaking on her new book, …

Jewish Studies @ Penn

Read the latest issue of the newsletter of the Jewish Studies Program, the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, and the Judaica Collections at the Penn Libraries.

Jewish Studies Administered Research Awards

Each fall and spring the Jewish Studies Program offers Goldfein Research Awards, Brenner Special Opportunity Awards, and Schwartz Awards to both undergraduate and graduate Penn students. Learn More >