03/04/2015
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Russian Scholars Visit Cleveland for Lecture Series on Arts and Culture
Two world-renowned scholars from Cleveland’s sister city of St. Petersburg, Russia join our community for a special lecture series, March 9-15, 2015. Alexander Ivanov and Valery Dymshits are both ethnographers at the Petersburg Judaica Center, a research center of the European University of St. Petersburg, Russia. Their visit is in coordination with the exhibition of photos featured in, “The Way We Looked: Photographs of Shtetl Life,” which are now on display in the Roe Green Gallery at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.
Ivanov and Dymshits’ visit to Cleveland is made possible by the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University’s Laura and Alvin Siegal Lifelong Learning Program. They will speak on a variety of topics, including:
Jews of Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union in Photos
Through two fascinating sets of photos, the speakers will shed light on Jewish life in Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union.
Lecturers: Alexander Ivanov and Alanna Cooper
March 10, 3 – 5 p.m.
Siegal Beachwood Facility, 26500 Shaker Blvd, Beachwood
Free and open to the public; $18 preferred seating available
Folklore and Folk Culture of European Jewry
An exploration of Jewish folklore through a variety of Yiddish folk-tales told among Eastern European Jewry.
Lecturer: Valery Dymshits
March 10, 7 p.m.
Siegal Beachwood Facility, 26500 Shaker Blvd, Beachwood
Free and open to the public; $18 preferred seating available
The Image of Shtetl Life in Jewish Literature
An examination of key works of Yiddish poetry reveals how the shtetl came to be used as a literary trope.
Lecturer: Valery Dymshits
March 11, 10 a.m.
Siegal Beachwood Facility, 26500 Shaker Blvd, Beachwood
Free and open to the public; $18 preferred seating available
Between Ethnography and Art: The Photos of S. An-Sky’s Expeditions
Come learn about the innovative and artistic techniques An-Sky, and his nephew, the photographer Solomon Iudovin, used to create a rich and beautiful portrait of a people.
Lecturer: Alexander Ivanov
March 11, 7 p.m.
Jewish Federation of Cleveland, Mandel Building, 25701 Science Park Drive, Beachwood
Free and open to the public
Ethnography and Folklore at the Petersburg Judaica Center of the European University in St. Petersburg, Russia
(in Russian only) In this panel discussion, visiting scholars Alexander Ivanov and Valery Dymshits will share information about the activities of the Petersburg Judaica Center of the European University of St. Petersburg.
Lecturers: Alexander Ivanov and Valery Dymshits
March 12, 7 p.m.
Jewish Federation of Cleveland, Mandel Building, 25701 Science Park Drive, Beachwood
Free and open to the public
Gallery Open House, “The Way We Looked: Photographs of Shtetl Life”
Join other Russian speaking Jewish families to view the photo exhibit, and discuss modern life in St. Petersburg.
March 15, 1:30 p.m. (in Russian) & 3 p.m. (in English)
Jewish Federation of Cleveland, Mandel Building, 25701 Science Park Drive, Beachwood
For more information, interview access, or invitation to attend certain events, please contact Rebecca Stolarsky at
216-593-2877 or rstolarsky@jcfcleve.org. To register for courses and programs, please visit www.case.edu/lifelonglearning or call 216-368-2091.
