Adult Learning Spotlight
Posted on 12/31/2021 @ 07:00 AM
Joshua ben Perachyah used to say:
Provide a teacher for yourself
and get yourself a friend;
and judge every person favorably.
(Pirke Avot /Ethics of our Ancestors 1:6)
Jewish learning goes beyond the quest for answers. It’s the connection between teacher and student that enhances the journey towards finding greater personal meaning in Judaism and seeing the world through a Jewish lens.
Our Melton & More / Adult Learning faculty shape the lives of our learners by creating powerful spaces for inquiry, discovery and connection. They design courses using centuries-old sacred texts and teachings and transform them into relevant wisdom that serves as inspiration to help navigate our modern world.
We encourage you to join a class with our faculty to have your own powerful experience of Jewish learning.
Meet Dr. Marsha Cohen
Her courses focus on Jewish insight, culture, food and the intersections between Modern Judaism and antiquity.
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Marsha B. Cohen, Ph.D. is an independent scholar, researcher and writer, who holds Melton’s Deborah and Michael Troner Endowed Faculty Chair. She earned her PhD in International Relations from Florida International University and taught for over a decade, specializing in the Middle East and North Africa and the Role of Religion in World Affairs. She received her BA in Political Philosophy from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Marsha has been teaching for the Department of Adult Learning & Growth as part of the Melton faculty for 20 plus years.
What do learners say about Dr. Cohen?
“I take every class Dr. Cohen offers! No matter the subject matter, my horizons are widened, my knowledge deepened and my excitement for what’s next is heightened! Every course is illuminating.”
“Dr. Cohen is always prepared with a wealth of information and together we explore fascinating topics. I recommend taking any class she teaches- you won’t be disappointed!”
Upcoming Course:
“Freedom and Responsibility: Insights from 20th Century Jewish Thinkers”
Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash
One of the greatest challenges of our time is balancing freedom and responsibility. This course will explore the thought of eight Jewish thinkers from the 20th and 21st centuries who have grappled with profound questions about the nature and extent of freedom and obligations beyond the self.
THURSDAYS, 10:00-11:30am (EST) Feb. 3, 10, 17, 24; Mar. 3, 10, 17 & 24
Meet Meet Dr. Samuel Edelman
His courses focus on the Middle East, both the contemporary landscape and the historical narrative.
Dr. Samuel Edelman has served as the first executive director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles. Currently he is one of the founding faculty members of the new Academic Council for Israel, and its executive director, and a member of the Academic Engagement Network (AEN). Edelman is an Academic Fellow and an adjunct professor of Israel Studies and Zionism of the Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies at the University of Miami and a lecturer at Florida Atlantic University LifeLong Learning Society. In addition to being one of the key academics fighting against BDS on campuses and in academic professional organizations...
Dr. Edelman is currently completing a new book entitled "The Age of Hate" with his wife and colleague, Prof. Carol Edelman.
What do learners say about Dr. Edelman?
“Dr. Edelman is a brilliant scholar. His courses are engaging and his insights bring clarity to the complex reality of the Middle East region. He develops classes that are relevant to what is happening in the world today and adds the historical foundation, which is a fascinating combination.”
Upcoming Course:
“Arab and Ottoman Occupation and Colonization of the Mediterranean: The Impact Continues”
Photo by Imad Alassiry on Unsplash
This course will focus on one of the issues that drives much of anti-Israel, anti-Zionist agitation-- that Israel is “a post-colonial European intrusion into the Middle East.” This course will explore the almost 1500 year Arab and Ottoman occupation of the Middle East, Africa, and parts of Europe and its long-term and continued impact on the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia. We will also look at how Middle East Studies' decision to overlook this history and focus only on European colonialism in their postcolonial theories has led to a failure in understanding the realities of the Middle East today.
WEDNESDAYS, 7:00-8:30pm (EST) Feb 2, 9, 16; Mar. 2
SPRING into Jewish learning, wisdom, and insight.
All classes held virtually.
Invite your family & friends to take part in the Melton & More experience with you regardless of where they live!
