Jewish Life in Small Town America to be Topic at University of Scranton Lecture
Lee Shai Weissbach, Ph.D., professor of history at the University of Louisville, Ky., will discuss "Jewish Life in Small-Town America: A History" at The University of Scranton's Weinberg Institute of Judaic Studies Spring 2009 Lecture. The lecture, presented free of charge, will begin at 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 14, in the Ann and Leo Moskovitz Theater of the Patrick & Margaret DeNaples Center, Mulberry Street.
Dr. Weissbach is an expert on social history, particularly that of Jews in the United States. He has lectured widely in the United States and abroad, and his articles have appeared in distinguished journals such as Jewish History, the Journal of Social History, Shofar, American Jewish History and The American Jewish Archives Journal.
He is the author of three books: Jewish Life in Small-Town America: A History; The Synagogues of Kentucky: Architecture and History; and Child Labor Reform in Nineteenth‑Century France: Assuring the Future Harvest.
Dr. Weissbach has also served as chair of the history department and as associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Louisville. He has been a member of the Academic Council of the American Jewish Historical Society, a trustee of the Southern Jewish Historical Society, and a fellow at the American Jewish Archives. Dr. Weissbach was awarded a prestigious Senior Scholar Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1996, and was chosen as a Fulbright Fellow in 2006.
He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Cincinnati, and a master's degree and doctorate from Harvard University.
The Weinberg Judaic Studies Institute at The University of Scranton fosters an understanding and appreciation of Judaism, Israel and their histories. It supports visits to the university by Jewish scholars, writers and leaders, and supports library acquisitions, publications, faculty research travel and other scholarly endeavors. The work of the institute was further enhanced by a $1 million gift from the Weinberg Foundation in 1990.
For information on The University of Scranton's Weinberg Institute of Judaic Studies Spring 2009 Lecture, contact Marc B. Shapiro, Ph.D., associate professor, theology/religious studies, at (570) 941-7956.