Greenfield Summer Institute

In Review: 2021 Institute

Last July, the Center for Jewish Studies presented the Greenfield Summer Institute online for the first time in the Institute’s twenty-one-year history. Over 120 people gather on Zoom to participate in lectures and discussions focusing around the theme “Jews and Politics: America, Israel, Europe.”

This year’s Institute featured renowned scholars from the UW and beyond, including Susie Linfield (New York University), Annie Polland (Tenement Museum), David Sorkin (Yale University), and Kenneth Wald (University of Florida). In a survey taken after the conference, most attendees said that they appreciated the opportunity to participate online, and several noted that it went more smoothly than they had anticipated. For some, the virtual format made it possible to attend Greenfield at a point in their lives when advancing age or illness would have made it challenging to attend in person. Participants also mentioned that they enjoyed chatting with each other between sessions and renewing old acquaintances. Overall, however, respondents felt that the online format could not duplicate the social aspect of the Institute. In 2022, we will hold the Greenfield Institute in person again, as in years past, in Grainger Hall on the UW–Madison campus.

About the Greenfield Summer Institute

As the premiere outreach event of the Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies, the Greenfield Summer Institute demonstrates our commitment to lifelong learning and testifies to the vision, legacy, and generosity of Center founders Laurence Weinstein and George Mosse. The Greenfield Summer Institute was the brainchild of Larry Greenfield, a member of the Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies Board of Visitors, who first proposed the idea of an adult summer institute in the mid-1990s. The first Greenfield Summer Institute in 2000 brought together people from the Madison community and beyond to participate in a unique blend of continuing education, entertainment, and fellowship. Now underwritten by the generosity of Larry and Ros Greenfield, the Institute showcases the research of UW–Madison faculty and acclaimed Jewish studies scholars from around the country.

Each year the Institute’s lectures center around a theme. In addition to lectures that explore the year’s theme in depth, the Institute also features concerts, dinners, and other opportunities to socialize.

Past Greenfield Summer Institutes

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