History Professor Dr. Rachel Weiser to Attend Prestigious Summer Institute for Israel Studies
12/04/2024
Dr. Rachel Weiser, Jax State's assistant professor of history, has been accepted to Brandeis University's Summer Institute for Israel Studies. Dr. Weiser will spend 10 days in residency at the university in Boston for lectures and workshops with scholars, politicians, and community leaders before taking a 10-day tour of Israel. Following the program, which takes place July 9 through 31, Dr. Weiser will develop two interdisciplinary courses on the history of antisemitism and the Holocaust for Jax State in the hopes of implementing for the 2025/2026 academic year.
Having grown up in Los Angeles and lived in Boston, two cities with large Jewish populations, Dr. Weiser has been interested in studying the Holocaust and the history of antisemitism for a long time. The Summer Institute ultimately presents her with a unique opportunity to educate students who may be less familiar with these topics. "But we're seeing it on the news or seeing it on social media, especially in the last year or so," said Dr. Weiser, who joined the Jax State history department this fall. "Even for our predominantly Christian students, I think there's a lot to be gained from learning about Judaism and its religious and cultural significance as it relates to their own religious history."
Since moving to Alabama, Dr. Weiser has learned about Birmingham's thriving Jewish community and the Alabama Holocaust Education Center, both of which she hopes to share with her students. "I've learned in my months here that there are hundreds of Holocaust survivors who relocated to Alabama after World War II," she said. "I think the fact that we have such a rich history here will just make it feel a little more personal and less far away, both in time and geography."
Though she's excited about the academic aspect of the program, Dr. Weiser is really looking forward to visiting Israel's most historically significant sites in person. "Nothing beats being there and meeting people who actually live there and can speak about their experiences," she said. "When it's a bunch of academics sitting halfway across the world talking about these events ... there's just not the same connection as physically seeing these places that I'll one day be teaching about."
Dr. Weiser learned about the summer program from her predecessor at Jax State, Dr. Russel Lemmons, who was instrumental in helping her transition to her new position in the history department. As both were modern European historians focused on Germany, they spent a lot of time discussing their shared interest in teaching about the Holocaust. Dr. Weiser wanted to develop a class on the history of antisemitism but didn't feel very knowledgeable about the region. Dr. Lemmons recommended the Summer Institute, which he had also attended years earlier. "So, it's been kind of a cool connection," she said. "I'm going to be the second generation of Jax State professors to participate in this program. It's quite an honor."