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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



The Dreyfus Affair and the Transformation of Jewish Identity

Maurice Samuels
Dec 4, 2024 at - | Kislak Center Class of 1978 Orrery Pavilion, 6th Floor, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center

The Dreyfus Affair transformed French society at the end of the nineteenth century. It also transformed the nature of Jewish identity, changing how Jews saw their place in the world and their relation to other Jews.…



Gruss Jewish Law Symposium

Christine Hayes, Simcha Gross
Mar 17, 2025 (All Day) | Penn Carey Law School

More information is forthcoming.



The Scales of Suffering: Neo-Lachrymosity and the Writing of Jewish History

Mar 31, 2025 (All Day) | Penn Museum

More information is forthcoming.

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 >