Back in person!
We are pleased to announce that this year’s Greenfield will take place on the UW-Madison campus.
The 22nd Annual Greenfield Summer Institute
“The Jewish Family across Time and Place”
July 11-14, 2022
What does Jewish law say about the obligations of parents, children, husbands, and wives? How do Jewish rituals help maintain families? How have kinship bonds evolved from the Hebrew Bible to the present? Join us at the 2022 Greenfield Summer Institute as historians, social scientists, and scholars of religion gather to explore the changing nature of Jewish families and their interactions with the larger societies they inhabit. Speakers will discuss such wide-ranging subjects as race and diversity in the family context; dating, marriage, and sex in the Orthodox world; the portrayal of Jewish families in film and television; and one extended Jewish family’s role in defeating Nazi forces in North Africa during World War II. With topics ranging from the Israelite cult of dead kin to the “myth” of the Jewish wedding, this year’s Greenfield will offer a richer understanding of the phrase le-Dor va-Dor—from generation to generation. You can view the full schedule of events here.
Register Now!
See below for information regarding registration, accommodations in Madison, and the full schedule of events.
2022 Program and Registration Info
Register now!
Click here to register through our online system
Payment by credit card or check is possible through the online registration form.
Please note that you will still need to register online even if you choose to pay by sending a check through the mail.
Program and Schedule
View the full schedule of events, which includes detailed information about each session and the speakers, here.
Can’t travel to Madison? Email us at greenfield@cjs.wisc.edu for information on options for participating online.
Lodging in Madison
The Institute has blocked rooms at three nearby hotels:
- Graduate Madison ($179)
Book online: click here
Book by phone: 608-257-4391 - Park Hotel ($169+ dependent on room type)
Book online: click here
Book by phone: 608-285-8000 - Hampton Inn & Suites ($169)
Book online: click here
Book by phone: 608-255-0360
Please note: if booking by phone, you must reference the “Greenfield Summer Institute 2022” room block to receive the discounted rate
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
Click below to donate to the Greenfield Fund in Jewish Studies: