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Judaic Studies Newsletter
Fall 2007 | No. 1
 Download the complete Fall 2007 newsletter as a PDF
Prof. Sander Gilman Speaks on "Multiculturalism and the Jewish Experience"
 "Multiculturalism and the Jewish Experience" was the topic of the UCF Judaic Studies program Fall Semester Distinguished Lecturers Series on Tuesday, October 30, 2007. Prof. Sander Gilman also presented a seminar on "Jewish Identity and Contemporary Jewish Literature in the Diaspora."
Dr. Sander Gilman has been Distinguished Professor of the Liberal Arts and Sciences at Emory University since 2005. A cultural and literary historian, he is the author or editor of over seventy books, including a study of the visual stereotypes of the mentally ill, Seeing the Insane, and a study titled Jewish Self-Hatred. For twenty-five years he was a member of the humanities and medical faculties at Cornell University, where he held the Goldwin Smith Professorship of Humane Studies. For six years he held the Henry R. Luce Distinguished Service Professorship of the Liberal Arts in Human Biology at the University of Chicago, and for four years he was a Distinguished Professor of the Liberal Arts and Medicine and creator of the Humanities Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Prof. Gilman was president of the Modern Language Association in 1995. He also served as a visiting professor at several universities in the U.S. and abroad, and was a Guggenheim Fellow. Prof. Gilman was awarded a Doctor of Law degree (honoris causa) at the University of Toronto in 1997 and has been elected an honorary professor of the Free University in Berlin. He is very well published in various languages, and currently has several works in progress. Dr. Gilman's special focus is on investigating the constellations of medical, social, and political discourse at various points throughout history. As a cultural and literary historian, Prof. Gilman studies the influence that anti-Semitism had on Freud's thought. Gilman discusses anti-Semitic stereotypes and documentation of anti-Semitic prejudices.
The Judaic Studies Program, now in its 23rd year at UCF, offers the Distinguised Lecturer Series in conjunction with the Burnett Honors College and Central Florida Hillel. The lectures and seminars are open to the public and are free of charge.
UCF Judaic Studies on the academic international scene [ Read more ]
Jeffery Golub named Employee of the Year
 UCF Judaic Studies is proud to announce that Jeffery Golub, the Program Assistant, was selected to be the 2006-2007 UCF Employee of the Year. Previously Jeff had been chosen as the March 2007 Employee of the Month, consequently he was honored as the Employee of the Year.
At the 35th Annual UCF Employee Awards Program on July 7, Mr. William F. Merck, II, V.P., of Administration & Finance presented the 2006 -2007 Employee of the Year Award to Jeff Golub.
UCF Human Resources noted that Jeff’s supervisor and co-workers speak highly of him with these words: "Not only is Mr. Golub extremely timely, helpful and cordial in the performance of his duties, but he has shown volunteer involvement in off-campus activities related to the Jewish community, acting as a representative of UCF and the Judaic Studies Program in the larger community."
The Employee of the Year is selected from the 12 Employees of the Month for the fiscal year. A committee, comprised of Faculty and staff from departments across campus, reviewed all the nominations and letters of recognition and voted on a winner.
On July 26, Jeff was introduced by t he President of UCF, Dr. John Hitt, as Employee of the Year to the University of Central Florida Board of Trustees at their July meeting.
Jeff has been at UCF for the past 9 years. He is also working with Hillel on campus and is a member of their Board of Directors.
Hillel's "The Vault" is Open!
"The Vault" is the nickname given to the over 3,000 square foot Hillel building that was once a bank, but now is a home away from home for thousands of Jewish students. Located immediately off campus from the University of Central Florida, where there are over 5,500 Jewish students currently enrolled, the Vault is home to the Hillel staff implementing cultural and social programs. One can walk into the Vault at any time and just relax on a sofa, grab a bagel and play Play- Station 3 on a plasma television.
Several times a week, the Vault is a venue to social events involving food at no cost to students, and a social environment for students to get away from the stress of college life. Max Friedman, a Jewish student at UCF, reasons that "a lot of people are not involved with Greek life or other major student organizations, so a place like the Hillel Vault gives them a schedule of events to look forward to attending. It adds structure to the lives of many Jewish students and their friends."
Hillel makes sure that the Vault has a variety of event styles ranging from holiday dinners to athletic competitions, to intern fairs. This variety of events keeps students from phasing out their level of involvement due to a monotonous calendar. One Sunday every month, The Vault is host to a brunch of bagels, lox, coffee, desserts and more. The building fills with students within minutes of the start, and for hours they stay, talking about upcoming events such as Hillel's Birthright trip, upcoming exams, or football games. It is events like these that lead to friendship and camaraderie that students look for in a college atmosphere.
Though the Vault is only a temporary facility being used until a larger and more permanent facility is constructed, it has become a home to UCF's Jewish students. Many students find that it is routine to check the Vault schedule daily, or just to stop off at the building to see if there is anything going on. Rather than the stereotypical resource center for pamphlets and guidance, the Vault has given Central Florida Hillel its own identity and has reserved a place in every Jewish student's schedule for cultural and social activities, and for rest and relaxation. For more information, contact Hillel at (407) 382-2687 or visit gohillel.org.
The Bar Mitzvah is a Hit!
On September 8, 2007, Hillel, in cooperation with the newly formed Student Organization Sababa and the Student Government Association, threw a special Bar Mitzvah, celebrating Central Florida Hillel in the Fairwinds Alumni Center. The event had everything a real Bar Mitzvah would have, including a semi-formal dress code, candle lighting ceremony, and food catered by Red Brick Pizza. There was also the Hora, where UCF's mascot and Guest of Honor, Knightro, was lifted on a chair.
There were over 300 people in attendance, including members of the Hillel Board of Directors, Alumni, and SGA president Brandie Hollinger. The master of ceremonies for the night was Senior Julian Edelschick, and he and Hillel student President Benji Rabhan announced candles (prefaced with rhyming blurbs) dedicated to organizations that worked with and helped Hillel in the past, including the Central Florida Hillel Board of Directors, Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Catholic Cam- pus Ministries, SGA, the Chocolate Club, and of course, the Judaic Studies Program. The event was a huge success and the party ran late into the night. It is an event that already has plans in the works for next year, and students are bubbling over with anticipation.
Judaic Studies' Dr. Ken Hanson Featured on The History Channel
On April 8, 2007, the History Channel aired a program called "Banned From the Bible II" featuring Dr. Kenneth Hanson. The show looks at several different religious texts and events in history to find the foundations of religion as it is today. In Dr. Hanson's piece, he examined the legend of Lillith, as well as the stories of Daniel, and tried to gain insight into the Apocrypha. He, along with rabbis and professors from Los Angeles and Stanford University, analyzed these works and explained the reasoning why certain events may have happened because of the actions of many different people in the bible, and why certain stories and lessons have been excluded from both the Jewish and Christian bibles. Check your local listings, or visit youtube. com and search "Banned From the Bible II." The Special is also available in DVD Box set at the History Channel Store. Visit http://store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id=77419 for more info@centralfloridahillel.com.
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