The Northern UK and Dublin Jewish Studies Partnership

Introduction

In 2015 the Centre for Jewish Studies at Manchester was the recipient of a major grant (£269,000) from an anonymous European Jewish foundation which was designed, in part, to develop a regional network of Jewish Studies in the Northern British Isles for the period 2016-2018. In 2018, a second tranche of funding (£410,000) was awarded for the period 2018-2022. The Centre acts as the co-ordinating hub of the Partnership, which is co-chaired by Profs. Alex Samely and Daniel Langton. The Partnership facilitates, among other things:

1. Doctoral and Early Career research training in Jewish Studies

The 2023 workshop took place hosted by Leeds University Jewish Studies (Johanna Stiebert and Eva Frojmovic) on 12-13 June 2023.

Programme (pdf)

The event programme for day 1 will include a variety of presentations and sessions. Jay Prosser's presentation will delve into the realm of doing and supervising practice research, using creative writing as an illustrative example. Roseanna Ramsden will explore the fascinating intersection between Holocaust testimony and queer history, shedding light on their interconnectedness. Postgraduates will have an exclusive session with Katherine Gwyther, who offers valuable insights and guidance on completing a PhD thesis, attending conferences, publishing research, and navigating future career paths. Stephen Muir's presentation will focus on the intriguing world of editing, publishing, and recording Jewish musical archives, providing valuable insights into this specialized field. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to embark on a virtual visit to the Cecil Roth Collection manuscripts, housed at the University Library Special Collections, guided by Eva Frojmovic.

On day 2, the programme will continue with a series of short presentations. Carmen Levick will sheds ligh on the Sheffield Jewish Studies Network, presenting its objectives and activities. David Fligg will present on the life and work of Czech-Jewish musician Gideon Klein, offering a captivating exploration of his contributions. Sherry Ashworth will take participants into the realm of literature, discussing her novel "Esther in Manchester" and its thematic exploration. Arpad Bak's presentation will centre around the cultural memory of Hungarian Roma and Jewish elements, unveiling their significance and interconnectedness. The programme also includes a discussion on the future of the NJSN research network and introduces the 2024 convenors, Yulia Egorova and Hannah Holtschneider. A mentoring session for postgraduate researchers is arranged, which will provide an opportunity for valuable guidance and interaction. The event will conclude with insights into the resources and opportunities offered by the Holocaust Centre North, followed by farewells.

2. Networking and research cooperation

An annual consultation meeting of senior staff at Hub partner institutions to explore research cooperation, joint funding applications and other matters of shared interest. The details of the next meeting will be announced here.

3. Teaching cooperation

Participation in the new pilot programme for Modern Hebrew at the University of Manchester for undergraduate studies in a mixed classroom and video-conferencing environment.

4. Scriptural encounters meetings

Northern Partners are encouraged to be involved in the Scriptural Encounters meetings held at the University of Manchester. Further information.

Current Institutional Partners include:

Leeds (Prof. Stiebert and Drs. Frojmovic and Prosser), Nottingham (Prof. Bielik-Robson), Edge Hill (Prof. Renton), Chester (Prof. Vincent), Bangor (Prof. Abrams, Dr. Stoetzler), Wales Trinity Saint David (Dr Keady) , Durham (Profs. Egorova, Baron, Dr Almog), Edinburgh (Drs. Holtschneider, Wilkes), Glasgow (Dr Spiro), St Andrews (Drs. Tooman, Lyons, Michelson) , Trinity College Dublin (Dr. Rodgers) Sheffield (Prof Vice)

New Funding (January 2018)

Continuing the status of Manchester's Centre for Jewish Studies as a "European regional Hub for Jewish Studies", the award is for £410,071 between Sept '18 and Aug '22. Activities will be concentrated in the first three years and include:

Continuation of the teaching of Modern Hebrew on 3 levels for four years; continuation of the piloting of "virtual classroom" teaching of language, open to auditing students off campus anywhere in the UK, members of the public from Manchester communities.
A 3-year post-doc researcher to work on a "narrative" of "50 Jewish Objects" from the John Rylands Judaica collections and other Northern UK Jewish Studies partnership libraries; this colleague will also do very intensive outreach work across Manchester and the region, including workshops, displays, online resources, publications, etc.
We will commission artistic objects and performances that engage with some of the selected 50 Jewish objects in the same 3-year period, involving further engagement with the public. All these activities together should raise the general awareness and profile of Jewish Studies in Manchester and beyond to a new level, perhaps with effect on student recruitment.
We will be able to provide 2 new MA fee bursaries, respectively, for Sept '18 entry and Sept '19 entry for the MA in Religions and Theology with Jewish studies focus, and then one per year for another two years.
We will continue the annual doctoral and early career training events in Jewish Studies, the next one taking place in the week starting 25 June 2018.
The Northern UK (and Dublin) Jewish Studies partnership will continue (= the European Region of which Manchester is the "Hub"); we will organize events on research funding/potential collaboration with our Northern Partner institutions (includes Jewish Studies academics from: Leeds, Durham, Edinburgh, St Andrews, Dublin, Bangor, Chester, Edge Hill, St Davids', Nottingham, Sheffield).