Alefbet lexicon 4 Grisha Bruskin 1988 oil on canvas (Art © Grisha Bruskin. Licensed by VAGA, New  York. Digital reproduction courtesy of Marlborough Gallery, New York) from The Yivo Encyclopedia of Jews in Central Europe, Vol 2. Gershon David Hundert, ed. New Haven:  Yale University Press, 2008

The Jewish Studies Program at Smith College, founded in 1985, examines Jews and Judaism from antiquity until today. Our courses explore Jewish history, religion, secular culture, literature and the arts, politics, thought, and language. From the bible to Kafka, from Maimonides to Jewish feminism, from life in Europe before the Holocaust to contemporary Israel and America, our program provides students with the flexibility to pursue their interests.

A major or minor in Jewish Studies provides an excellent education due to its strong focus on close reading and interpretation of classic and modern texts, its attention to cross-cultural interactions, and the variety of disciplines it employs in order to understand the dramatic story of Jewish civilization. Jewish Studies well complements almost any field of the humanities and social sciences. Students from the sciences and engineering often enroll in our program as a way to enrich their liberal arts education.

The program offers students opportunities to work closely with committed faculty in special studies at the advanced level, to develop close mentoring relationships, and to expand their knowledge through study abroad. As part of the Five-College Consortium, Smith's own Jewish Studies curriculum is complemented by courses at Amherst, Hampshire, and Mt Holyoke Colleges and the Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Massachusetts. The resources of the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst further enhance educational opportunities.

Students interested in learning more about the program are invited to contact one of its co-directors, Justin Cammy or Joel Kaminsky.