Date: Wednesday, February 26, March 5, 12 Location: TBD Instructor: Rachel Rubinstein, PhD, Springfield College Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Time: 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

Description: This three-session series aims to provide an introductory overview of Zionism and the founding of Israel (Session I); Israel’s political and cultural history and conflicts (Session 2); and finally an examination of October 7th and its aftermath (Session 3). Using a balanced approach, our conversations will seek to clarify and understand Israel as a self-described Jewish democratic state, as well as its place in a complex and changing Middle East..

Dates:
     Session 1: Wednesday, February 26
     Session 2: Wednesday, March 5
     Session 3: Wednesdays, March 12

Time: 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

Location: TBD

Instructor: Rachel Rubinstein, PhD, Springfield College Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences

Instructor Biography: Rachel Rubinstein, PhD, has served as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences since 2021. Prior to coming to Springfield College, she served as senior advisor to the deputy commissioner of Academic Affairs and Student Success at the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, focusing on the state’s Equity Agenda; as the inaugural vice president of Academic and Student Affairs at Holyoke Community College; and, for 16 years, as professor of American Literature and Jewish Studies at Hampshire College, where she also served as Dean of Academic Support and Advising for six years. She was a Fulbright fellowship award recipient in 2013-14. The child of immigrants from Mexico, her scholarship focuses on migration, multilingualism, translation, racial formation and literary nationalism, as well as on pedagogies in the fields of ethnic and race studies.

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