The Jim Joseph Foundation has awarded a $1.47 million grant to the George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development and the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences to fund an interdisciplinary M.A. program.
The M.A. in experiential education and Jewish cultural arts is the first degree of its kind in the nation and offers a curriculum that integrates GSEHD’s museum education program with CCAS's graduate program in Jewish Cultural Arts.
The program will launch in summer 2014.
“This exciting initiative brings together what is arguably the foremost museum education program in the nation and the first-ever degree program in Jewish cultural arts,” said GSEHD Dean and Professor of Education Michael Feuer. “With this new program, we can be a key agent of change in the Jewish cultural community and prepare a new generation of interdisciplinary scholar-practitioners.”
“More broadly, by bridging research to practice, we will be advancing one of GSEHD’s visionary goals,” he said.
Al Levitt, president of the Jim Joseph Foundation, a philanthropic fund, was pleased that the organization could support the development of the degree program as its goals closely align with the foundation’s mission to create a vital space for educators to engage Jewish youth and young adults.
“One of the foundation’s strategic priorities is to increase the number of Jewish educators and to develop educators with a skill set to provide compelling learning experiences beyond the classroom,” Mr. Levitt said.
The joint degree seeks to train leaders in teaching the varied artistic expressions of Jewish identity through experiential learning, including intensive summer institutes and community collaborations that utilize the specialized resources available through the university’s location in the nation’s capital.
Dr. Feuer and Charles E. Smith Professor of Judaic Studies and Director of the Program in Judaic Studies Jenna Weissman Joselit developed the curriculum.
Dr. Joselit and GSEHD Associate Professor of Museum Education Carol Stapp will serve as co-directors of the program.
“The Jewish cultural arts form a cultural eco-system that keeps contemporary Jewish life humming,” Dr. Joselit said. “By working together with GSEHD, the Program in Judaic Studies has the unparalleled opportunity to ensure its ongoing vitality and shape its future even as it establishes a model of intra-university collaboration and interdisciplinary thinking."
CCAS Associate Dean for Graduate Studies Tara Wallace also expressed excitement about the collaboration.
“We are delighted to work with GSEHD on this important initiative,” Ms. Wallace said. “At Columbian College, we are committed to the philosophy that professional training and intellectual scholarship are inextricably linked, and this program represents an innovative approach to advancing that mission.”
The degree also aims to expand on the increasingly vital position that museums have held in the American Jewish community and find new ways to engage with students and the public.