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February 03, 2012 from 6:15 PM to February 05, 2012 at 10:00 AM

Beth Am is honored to welcome this year's Saxe Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Stephen J. Whitfield, professor of American and Jewish studies at Brandeis University. Throughout the weekend, Dr. Whitfield will address several subjects related to this year's education theme, the American Jewish experience. Please join Dr. Whitfield, who is known as a dynamic and engaging speaker and teacher, for the following talks:

The Defeat of Racism - Friday, February 3, 5 p.m., Sanctuary

The 20th century struggle for the civil rights of black Americans gained momentum in one underappreciated way, which was the demonstration of African-Americans' artistic and intellectual achievements. In that effort to combat bigotry, the role of Jews looms especially large as they effectively encouraged and promoted African-American culture, which has been integral to a pluralistic and more just nation.

The Jewish Vote - Friday, February 3, during services (6:15 p.m.), Sanctuary

Because 2012 will be a presidential election year, the role of Jewish voters will come under special scrutiny. Their historic loyalty to liberal policies and politicians has come to be questioned, and the explanations for that persistent devotion to progressivism and to the Democratic Party can be offered and diagnosed.

An Introduction to Jewish Humor - Saturday, February 4, 4 p.m., Beit Kehillah

Humor is a distinctive entrée into Jewish values and into the texture of the Jewish experience. Wit and comedy can be analyzed as an expression of how this people has seen its place in America and how its family dynamics have unfolded.

Making America Harmonious - Sunday, February 5, 9 a.m., Beit Kehillah

How Jewish songwriters, on Tin Pan Alley, on Broadway and for the Hollywood musical, created a body of work that defined and satisfied the nation's musical taste for half a century. What, if anything, made their lyrics and melodies Jewish?

Your contributions to the Saxe Scholar-in-Residence Fund in support of this and other outstanding programs are welcome. Please donate online now!

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Dr. Whitfield holds the Max Richter Chair in American Civilization at Brandeis University. He earned a bachelor's degree from Tulane University, a master's from Yale University and a doctorate in the history of American civilization from Brandeis. Trained as an historian, he first encountered the field of American studies when he had to teach it, beginning in the fall of 1972 at Brandeis. His curricular and research interests are primarily in the intersection of politics and ideas in the 20th century.

Dr. Whitfield has twice been awarded Fulbright visiting professorships: first at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1983-84) and then at the Catholic University of Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium (fall semester 1993). He has also taught American studies twice at the Sorbonne (University of Paris IV), in the fall of 1994 and in the fall of 1998. For a semester in 2004, he became the first Allianz Visiting Professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich to offer courses in American Jewish studies. Such opportunities to teach and to live abroad have enhanced Whitfield's desire to place the understanding of the United States within an international perspective.

Dr. Whitfield is the author of eight books, including Scott Nearing: Apostle of American Radicalism, Into the Dark: Hannah Arendt and Totalitarianism, Voices of Jacob, Hands of Esau: Jews in American Life and Thought, A Critical American: The Politics of Dwight Macdonald, A Death in the Delta: The Story of Emmett Till, American Space, Jewish Time, The Culture of the Cold War, and In Search of American Jewish Culture. He is also the editor of A Companion to 20th-Century America.

Contact: info@betham.org
Organization: Congregation Beth Am
Website Link: http://www.betham.org/
Location: Multiple Locations at Congregation Beth Am: 26790 Arastradero Rd., Los Altos Hills, CA 94022

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