Marilyn Bernard is a PhD candidate, in the History Department. Her studies focus on relations between Jews and non-Jews in the province of Quebec. For her doctoral dissertation, she is exploring the issue of marriages between Catholic French Canadians, and Jewish English Canadians, using oral history methods.
In her Ph.D. dissertation, Audrey will study how the legacy of the Second World War in general and the Holocaust in particular has been ignored or partially (fully?) acknowledged in two European cities whose pasts are intrinsically linked to the Third Reich: Warsaw and Vichy. She will also investigate whether the memorial choices made by the two cities favored the development of anti-Semitic feelings among their inhabitants.
Daniel Hundert serves as a Rabbi at the Ghetto Shul, a downtown synagogue for young people. He recently completed his MA and will be beginning doctoral studies relating to the concept of the "spiritual quest" in Hasidism.
Minghui Pan’s research area is the relationship of Jews in North America and China during the Second World War, especially focusing on the anti-Semitism and its roots in North America.
Maya is studying graphic memoirs written and illustrated by Jewish artists, including Miriam Libicki, Bernice Eisenstein, and Miriam Katin. Through this unique contemporary art form, she will explore the representation of memory and how it shapes collective as well as individual identity.
Ryan is currently studying the role anti-Semitism played in the Allied decision to abandon the Jewish resistance during the Holocaust.
Minghui is studying the relations of Jews in North America and China during the Second World War, especially focusing on anti-Semitism and its roots in North America.
Brian is examining how Jewish writers, such as A.M. Klein, influenced the development of a distinct Canadian national literary identity. Focusing on the early post-World War II period, this research centers upon themes of author self-representation and its impact on readers' self-perception.
Brian is examining how Jewish writers, such as A.M. Klein, influenced the development of a distinct Canadian national literary identity. Focusing on the early post-World War II period, this research centers upon themes of author self-representation and its impact on readers' self-perception.
Angelique is undertaking research on harlotry narratives in Biblical texts, both Jewish and Christian.
Central to Marat’s research are varied and complex situations faced by the Jewish communities in the Caucasus.
Award Ceremony, Samuel Bronfman Building, 18th June 2007
Lara Rabinovitch, Ph.D., History, and Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University. Research area is on East European Jewish migration by focusing on the immigration of Jews from Romania to North America.
Julie Miryam Spergel, Ph.D., English Philology, University of Regensburg, Germany. Dissertation title, “Canada’s ‘Second History’: The Fiction of Jewish Canadian Women Writers.”
Jacqueline Sischy, M.A., Art History, Concordia University. Focus of study is on art and the Jewish Canadian experience.
Jamie Anne Read, M.A. History and Philosophy of Religion, Concordia University. Focus of study is in conflict resolution and religious reconciliation between Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities.
Dana Lori Chalmers, M.A., Special Individualized Programme, Concordia University. Research explores and evaluates the influence of both Theatre and ParaTheatre on The Holocaust.
Amit Yehudai, M.A., Philosophy, Concordia University. Study of Philosophy and Religion.
Donna Goodman, Ph.D., Religion, Concordia University. Thesis is on the exploration of Canadian Jewish Women’s experience through the reading of cookbooks.
Back row, L-R: Steven Lapidus, Carolyn Shaffer, Dr. Norman Ravvin (Chair).
Front Row, L-R: Andrea Gondos, Susan Landau-Chark, Olivia Ward (Assistant to the Chair), Bonnie Goodman. (Missing from picture: JoAnne Stober, Lauren Burger)
The winners of the 2005-2006 Institute Fellowships are; Carolyn Shaffer (M.A.), Bonnie Goodman (M.A.) and JoAnne Stober (Ph.D.) The recipients of the Romek Hornstein Award are Andrea Gondos and Steven Lapidus. The Wetstein Award has been granted to Susan Landau Chark and the recipient of the Naim Mahlab Fellowship is Lauren Burger.
Institute Fellowships
Jesse Radz , M.A., - $5,000
Carolyn Shaffer, M.A., - $5,000
Bonnie Goodman, M.A. - $5,000
Suzan Searle, M.A.- $5,000
Christine Poirier, M.A. - $2,000
Naim Mahlab Fellowship
Samantha Kravitz, M.A. - $5,000
Romek Hornstein Memorial Award
Andrea Gondos, M.A. - $3,125
Gordon Aronoff, Ph.D. - $3,125
Wetstein Fellowship
Steven Lapidus , Ph.D. - $1,250
Institute Fellowships
Steven Lapidus, Ph.D., Religion - $7,500
Suzan Searle, M.A., Religion - $5,000
Barbara Weiser, M.A., Religion - $5,000
Naim Mahlab Fellowship
Steven Lapidus, Ph.D., Religion - $5,000
Romek Hornstein Memorial Award
Gordon Aronoff, Ph.D., Religion - $3,125
Susan Landau-Chark, Ph.D., Religion - $3,125
Wetstein Fellowship
Carolyn Shaffer, M.A., Religion - $1,250
Marlene Bonneau, Department of Religion
Sharon Gubbay Helfer, Department of Religion (Judaic Studies)
"The Past has a Vote, not a Veto: A Case Study in the (Re-)Construction of Jewish Memory"
Ms. Gubbay Helfer’s research focused on the Reconstructionist Synagogue of Montreal, a relatively highly educated congregation founded on rationalist and naturalist beliefs, set since its inception in the context of a nationalist Québec. How does this congregation construct memory? What are the rituals, the texts, the programmatic activities that create or recreate the myths, the history, and the personal memories that shape Jewish life?
Extensive interviewing, participant observation of synagogue life, and an analysis of texts and archives formed the basis of an exploration of the themes: Memory and Identity, Memory and Politics, Memory and Ethics Memory and the Divine.
Yvonne Hardt, Department of History
Eve Lerner, Department of History
Ms. Lerner has studied Montreal's Jewish labour milieu, between 1920 and 1950. Her focus was to determine the place of activists in the Jewish community at large, the extent of inter-ethnic interaction, the impact of the International Trade Unionism in the garment trade on the Quebec labour movement, as well as the role of married women in the activist milieu. Ultimately, Ms. Lerner’s goal was to gain an understanding of the dynamic milieu of Jewish Montreal in its formative years, while maintaining the perspective of a rapidly changing Quebec society. Conducting interviews, exploring local archival resources, and studying the historiography of the Jewish Left in Canada, were among her methods of research gathering.
Sonia Zylberberg, Department of Religion
Working towards a doctorate in Judaic Studies at Concordia University, Ms. Zylberberg’s thesis examined contemporary Jewish women's rituals. Many new rituals have arisen as a result of the changing conditions of Jewish communities in North America; these include Rosh Hodesh groups and women's seders. Ms. Zylberberg's study analyzed these rituals in terms of their relationship with their respective communities, and the ways in which the rituals are created by communities and function, in turn, to both reinforce existing communities and create new ones.
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