November 6, 1998
“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.