2016 Association for Jewish Studies Conference

From December 13-15, members of CASJE's Hebrew at Camp research team attended the 47th annual Conference of the Association for Jewish Studies--the largest annual international gathering of Jewish studies scholars. With more than 1100 attendees, over 170 sessions, a major book exhibit of leading publishers, cultural programming, and gala banquet, the AJS annual meeting provides a unique opportunity to share ideas and explore the world of Jewish studies scholarship.

At the conference, the researchers participated in a roundtable session, "Hebrew at American Jewish Summer Camps: The Role of Israel and Israelis," in which they shared some initial findings from ethnographic and historical research on the use of Hebrew at Jewish summer camps. They specifically discussed the various ways that American Jewish summer camps incorporate Israel and Israelis in their use of Hebrew. During the discussion, Sarah Bunin Benor, Sharon Avi, and Jonathan Krasner presented findings, while Shaul Kelner and Shuly Rubin Schwartz responded based on their expertise of American Jewish connections to Israel and the history of Jewish summer camps, respectively.

In the coming months, CASJE will share the full findings from the comprehensive research of Hebrew at camps. These efforts are a significant contribution to more deeply understanding Hebrew language education.