Academic and Learning Opportunities

We continue to develop new conversations, programs, and educational opportunities that celebrate Jewish life, confront antisemitism, and promote thoughtful, inclusive dialogue across differences.

Bowdoin’s recent programming has featured national and international experts, along with cultural and artistic works that encourage reflection and discussion.

Israel, Zionism, and the Middle East: Talks and Dialogues

Bowdoin hosts speakers who bring diverse perspectives on Israel, Zionism, and the broader Middle East, often paired with opportunities for continued conversation.

Avi Melamed
“Inside the Middle East”

A deep-dive talk on Middle East dynamics, accompanied by a dinner with students, staff, and faculty to support extended dialogue.

Dov Waxman
“When is Anti-Zionism Antisemitic?”

Waxman, the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair in Israel Studies at UCLA, examined the complex relationship between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. The program included follow-up discussion opportunities for students, staff, and faculty.

Rabbi Lisa Vinikoor
“The Roots of Zionism”

As part of the 2024–2025 Interfaith Visibility Week, Rabbi Vinikoor traced the historical, political, and religious contours of Zionism.

Rabbi Andy Bachman
On Israel and Palestine

Rabbi Bachman, founder of Water Over the Rocks and the Center for Midwestern Jewish Communities, spoke about Israel and Palestine through the lens of his personal and educational experiences.

Viewpoint Exchange Series

Launched in March 2025, the Viewpoint Exchange series facilitates campus talks and interactive sessions on challenging topics, including antisemitism, Islamophobia, and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The series is designed to strengthen our community’s capacity for constructive engagement around complex issues.

Recent speakers have included:

Loretta J. Ross
“The Radical Power of Calling In Those You’d Rather Cancel”

An activist and scholar, Ross explored the practice of “calling in” as an alternative to public shaming and cancellation.

Yair Rosenberg
“The Turn Against the Jews: The Societal Shifts Behind American Antisemitism”

Rosenberg, a staff writer at The Atlantic, discussed contemporary antisemitism in the United States. His talk was followed by a hosted dinner conversation with students, staff, and faculty.

View the entire Season 2 lineup for the Viewpoint Exchange series.

Endowed Professorship

In 2025, made possible by a generous anonymous gift, the College establishes a new endowed professorship in Jewish studies. The professorship beings on July 1, 2026.

Endowed Lectures

The Harry Spindel Annual Memorial Lecture in Judaic Studies and contemporary Jewish affairs was established in 1977 by the gift of Rosalyne Spindel Bernstein, H’97, and Sumner Thurman Bernstein in memory of her father, Harry Spindel, as a lasting testimony to his lifelong devotion to Jewish learning.

The Rules and Recipes of Jewish Bread

Featured Jewish food historian Jordan Rosenblum and James Beard award-winning baker Barak Olins.

Ruth Behar

Behar is a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. As a Cuban American of Sephardic Turkish, Ashkenazi Polish and Russian ancestry, she spoke about navigating her exilic Jewish Latina identity.

Previous Spindel Lectures »

The Holocaust Education Lecture Series, supported by the Gabry Family Fund, was established to deepen understanding of the Holocaust and its contemporary relevance.

Wendy Lower
“The Ravine: A Family, a Photograph, a Holocaust Massacre Revealed”

Lower is the John K. Roth Professor of History at Claremont McKenna College. She chairs the Academic Committee of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and has published several books on the Holocaust in Ukraine.

Paul Jaskot
“Architecture and the Holocaust”

Paul Jaskot is professor of art history and German studies in the Department of Art, Art History, and Visual Studies at Duke University. He was a founding member of the Holocaust Geography Collaborative, and the Ina Levine Invitational Scholar at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Judy Batalion
“The Light of Days”

Highlighted what she describes as “the unapologetic fearlessness of Jewish women during the Holocaust” through her book The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos.

Peter Hayes ’68
“The US and the Holocaust”

Explored America’s response to the Holocaust, including its limitations and instances of moral courage, such as the admission of Jewish refugees and the rescue work of Bowdoin alum Albert “Jim” Abrahamson.
Watch this talk online »

Film, Music, and Cultural Programs

Bowdoin celebrates Jewish culture through film, music, and the arts, offering opportunities for both education and community-building.

October 7th: The Play (October 2025): A student initiative sponsored a campus staging of October 7th: The Play, was paired with facilitated conversations and opportunities for community engagement.
Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band (September 2025): Internationally acclaimed Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band brought an energetic, contemporary interpretation of Jewish music to campus, combining improvisation and dance-band intensity in a performance accessible to audiences of all ages.
Maine Jewish Film Festival Screening (November 2023): In partnership with the Maine Jewish Film Festival, Bowdoin’s cinema studies program brought two films to campus and made them available at no cost to students and area residents.

Dialogue, Conversation, and Community-Building Initiatives

Bowdoin supports structured opportunities for students to learn how to engage across differences, including around topics related to Jewish life, Israel, and global conflict.
Disagreeing Together Over Dinner: All first-year students are invited to one of five dinners with their residential floormates, where they learn strategies for responding constructively in conversations involving disagreement.
Bowdoin Community Conversation Fellowship: This fellowship brings together approximately thirty students for weekly, facilitated lunch conversations focused on practicing respectful dialogue and deep listening.
Sponsored by Bowdoin’s McKeen Center for the Common Good, “What Matters” brings students, faculty, and staff together with members of the local community to share perspectives on ideology, race, gender, religion, and a variety of other issues.
Walk and Talk Initiative (Fall 2025): As part of the McKeen Center for the Common Good’s “What Matters” series, this initiative encourages people with differing beliefs and values to explore difficult issues together while walking and talking.

Academic Offerings

Below are examples of Bowdoin courses focused on antisemitism, Jewish history, and interreligious relations:

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Office of Inclusion and Diversity