Swig Judaic Studies Program
Encyclopedia
The Swig Judaic Studies Program is a Jewish Studies
Jewish studies
Jewish studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history , religious studies, archeology, sociology, languages , political science, area studies, women's studies, and ethnic studies...

 Program at The University of San Francisco in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

The program was funded by the Melvin Swig
Melvin Swig
Melvin M. Swig was a San Francisco real estate developer and philanthropist. He was also owner of the National Hockey League's California Golden Seals and Cleveland Barons....

 family over twenty years ago. It has the distinction of being the first Judaic Studies Program to be established at a Catholic university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 in the United States. The program enhances the interfaith efforts of the University of San Francisco both on and off campus by fostering an exchange of ideas and scholarship.

On campus, the endowment provides funding to offer Classes in Jewish Culture and Thought and Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

 Programs, and it extends beyond the University of San Francisco to the larger San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...

 community through the Swig Public Lecture Series.

The program also contributes to the Annual Writer Series, Ulpan San Francisco, The Flannery-Hyatt Institute for Interfaith Understanding, and Swig Judaic Studies Library Resources. The endowment ensures the continuity of this valuable program as a permanent part of the The University of San Francisco academic curriculum.

Lecture series

The Swig Public Lecture Series, sponsored by the Swig Judaic Studies Program at the University of San Francisco
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...

, is a free lecture series that is offered to the public in San Francisco, California.

Funded by Melvin Swig
Melvin Swig
Melvin M. Swig was a San Francisco real estate developer and philanthropist. He was also owner of the National Hockey League's California Golden Seals and Cleveland Barons....

, a San Francisco businessmen and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

, the series brings distinguished scholars to the University of San Francisco
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...

 to lecture in the field of Jewish Studies
Jewish studies
Jewish studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history , religious studies, archeology, sociology, languages , political science, area studies, women's studies, and ethnic studies...

.

Melvin Swig
Melvin Swig
Melvin M. Swig was a San Francisco real estate developer and philanthropist. He was also owner of the National Hockey League's California Golden Seals and Cleveland Barons....

's dedication to interfaith dialogue and his commitment to academic instituitions inspired him to initiate the endowment for the Swig Judaic Studies Program at the University of San Francisco
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...

 in the late 1970s. As the first Catholic university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to establish a Jewish Studies
Jewish studies
Jewish studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history , religious studies, archeology, sociology, languages , political science, area studies, women's studies, and ethnic studies...

 program, the University of San Francisco
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...

 especially welcomes scholarly inquiry into the historic relationship between Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

 and Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

. The Swig Lecture is presented to the general public and subsequently published as a formal paper for distribution to colleagues in the U.S. and abroad.

Swig Judaic Studies Program http://www.usfca.edu/artsci/ug/judaic_studies/minor.html
The Writer Series http://www.usfca.edu/artsci/ug/judaic_studies/previous_lectures_events.html

Judaic Studies Lectures

Jewish-Catholic Relations in a Secular Age http://www.usfca.edu/artsci/ug/judaic_studies/previous_lectures_events.html

The New Otherness: Marrano Dualities in the First Generation http://www.usfca.edu/artsci/ug/judaic_studies/previous_lectures_events.html

Inaugural Symposium of the Flannery-Hyatt Institute for Interfaith Understanding http://www.usfca.edu/artsci/ug/judaic_studies/previous_lectures_events.html

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK