Thanks to donor support, Western’s new program in Jewish Studies is growing, and the Waks Family Chair in Jewish History and the London Jewish Federation Fellowship in Jewish History are leading the way.
Howard Lupovitch took on the role of Waks Family Chair this past July and has been working to expand and develop the program.
“I have been consolidating and expanding the range of Jewish Studies courses offered on campus, increasing enrolments in courses and the number of majors and minors, and, in general, creating a buzz on campus,” says Lupovitch, who has also helped enhance the library holdings to support research and teaching in Jewish Studies.
He notes that like any new interdisciplinary program, Jewish Studies provides an additional comparative perspective for students studying a variety of disciplines: history, literature, philosophy, religion, not to mention the Middle East.
In fact, History courses in Jewish Studies have filled to capacity or near capacity drawing students not only from Social Science, but also from the Faculties of Arts and Humanities, Information and Media Studies, the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and the Affiliated Colleges. Considerable financial support for the program in the way of scholarships and funding for program development has emerged, both within London and more generally in Ontario. This funding will support courses and students.
Professor Lupovitch brings a very distinguished academic reputation to Western and the Department welcomes him as not only a scholar of the Jewish world, but as an historian of an underappreciated element of Eastern Europe as well as of Early Modern Europe.
“The generosity and vision of donors is indispensible to Jewish Studies at Western,” notes Lupovitch. “Thanks to this support, the possibilities for Jewish Studies are endless here, and I look forward to pursuing them.”
