“The Holocaust: Whose History Is It?”

is the Topic of a Lecture and Symposium at Middlebury College

on Nov. 15

Middlebury College will host a symposium-“The

Holocaust: Whose History Is It?”-on Sunday, Nov. 15. The

event, the 2nd Silberman Symposium in Jewish Studies, will consist

of the 12th annual Hannah A. Quint Lecture in Jewish

Studies and a panel discussion. Both the lecture and the panel

discussion are free and open to the public and will take place

in the library of the Geonomics Center for International Studies

on Hillcrest Road off College Street (Route 125).

At 4 p.m. Margot Strom will begin the symposium with

the keynote lecture. Strom is the founder and director of the

Facing History and Ourselves National Foundation, a nonprofit

professional development organization committed to assisting teachers’

efforts to help students make essential connections between history

and the moral choices they confront in their own lives. Now three

decades old, the foundation reaches an estimated 900,000 students

annually through 21,000 educators across the United States, Canada,

and Europe.

At 7:30 p.m., there will be a panel discussion. Strom

will then respond to remarks made by Middlebury College faculty

serving as panelists: Marjorie Lamberti, Charles A. Dana Professor

of History; Stephen Donadio, professor of American literature,

and editor of the New England Review; and Michael Kraus, professor

of political science. Robert S. Schine, Curt C. and Else Silberman

Professor of Jewish Studies, and dean of the faculty, will serve

as the moderator.

Margot Strom and the Facing History and Ourselves

National Foundation

With colleagues on the staff of Facing History, Strom

is the author and co-author of numerous books and other educational

materials designed to bring education about democratic citizenship

into classrooms. These educational resources include the organization’s

three principal books, “Facing History and Ourselves: Holocaust

and Human Behavior,” “Elements of Time,”

and “Choosing to Participate.”

In 1996, Strom led Facing Historyís effort

to establish a training component for police academy recruits

through the Boston Police Department. That program has now been

funded by the United States Justice Department and will be extended

to police academies all over the country.

Silberman Symposium

The Silberman Symposium is supported by the fund

for the Curt C. and Else Silberman Chair in Jewish Studies. Establishing

the fund in 1994, Curt Silberman said, “Our intention is

not to sponsor a chair for Jewish students and Jewish studies

per se. What is intended is the creation of a forum for students

of all creeds and religions and even non-believers, which would

become at the same time a kind of community forum with scholars,

professors, lecturers, and citizens at large as participants.”

One of the mandates of the chair is “the study of Jewish

history with emphasis on modern Jewish history, and the Holocaust

as deterrent to prejudice and bias. It should further deal with

Ö the phenomenon of anti-Semitism as a barometer of the health

of a society.” Its goal is universal: to contribute “toward

better understanding of each other.”

Hannah A. Quint Lecture in Jewish Studies

The Hannah A. Quint Lecture in Jewish Studies was

established by Eliot Levinson, a member of the Middlebury College

class of 1964, and his family to honor his mother, Hannah A. Quint.

Its purpose is to provoke interest in and to deepen understanding

of Jewish culture, of the religion, the history, and the literature

of the Jews, and to bring a Jewish perspective to bear on ethical

and political questions. One of its goals is to draw not only

the Middlebury College community, but the people of the town and

region into the discussion and debate.

For more information, contact Robert S. Schine of

the Middlebury College religion department at 802-443-5391.

Schedule of Events:

Sunday, Nov. 15

4 p.m. Keynote lecture:

“The Holocaust: Whose History Is It?,” Margot Strom,

founder and director of the Facing History and Ourselves National

Foundation.

7:30 p.m. Panel Discussion:

“The Holocaust: Whose History Is It?,” Panelists are

Middlebury College faculty: Marjorie Lamberti, Charles A. Dana

Professor of History; Stephen Donadio, professor of American literature,

and editor of the New England Review; and Michael Kraus, professor

of political science. Robert S. Schine, Curt C. and Else Silberman

Professor of Jewish Studies, and dean of the faculty, will serve

as the moderator.

Both events are free and open to the public and will

take place in the library of the Geonomics Center for International

Studies on Hillcrest Road off College Street (Route 125).

For more information, contact Robert S. Schine of

the Middlebury College religion department at 802-443-5391.