The Jewish Studies Program hosts several Sunday brunches each year, bringing together faculty, staff, students, and members of the broader community for engaging conversations with experts in the field. Each event begins with a shared meal, followed by a guest presentation and lively discussion.
Topics span a wide range of interests, including Jewish history, literature, food, philosophy, art, music, and religion.
If you’d like to attend or receive updates about upcoming Jewish Studies events, please contact our Program Director at saskiacs@sc.edu to be added to our listserv.
2025
April 2025
Dr. Yaacob Dweck
Philip and Beulah Rollings Professor of History, Princeton University
Dr. Dweck, a leading historian of premodern Jewish history, will present a talk on
the early modern Sephardic diaspora. He will explore how political upheaval, economic
instability, and shifting religious landscapes shaped Sephardic communities across
Europe and the Mediterranean.
March 2025
McKenzie Wren and Reuben Haller
"Two Artists: Music and Art Making as a Jewish Spiritual Path"
Join us for an informal presentation with two artists—one in music, the other in visual
art—who explore creative practices as a form of Jewish spiritual expression. Their
work navigates tradition, innovation, and personal meaning to illuminate the intersection
of artistic practice and Jewish spirituality.
2024
November 2024
Dr. Ashley Walters
Director, Pearlstine/Lipov Center for Southern Jewish Culture, College of Charleston
Talk: "Love Letters of a Socialist: Jack London, Sinclair Lewis, and the Strunsky Sisters"
January 2024
Dr. John Mandsager
Assistant Professor of Religion, University of South Carolina
Talk: "Agricultural Space, Visuality, and Performance in Early Rabbinic Judaism"
2023
October 2023
Yoav Schaefer
Princeton University
Talk: "What is (Jewish) Enlightenment?"