The innovative collaborative project, spearheaded by the Inaugural Israeli-German Joint School German Science Foundation (DFG), has secured funding for an avant-garde joint doctoral school. This international endeavor involves a partnership between the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Leipzig, and the Dubnow Institute in Leipzig, signaling a groundbreaking leap forward in fostering global cooperation within the realm of humanities.
Scheduled to commence its operations in the summer of 2024 in Jerusalem, the school offers a distinctive educational opportunity for students to delve into the study of Jewish material culture in the 20th century. The program, titled “Belongings: Jewish Material Culture in Twentieth-Century Europe and Beyond,” is designed to immerse 22 research students in interdisciplinary studies encompassing history, philosophy, literature, cultural studies, art history, and more.
Inaugural Israeli-German Joint School
What sets this initiative apart is the full four-year funding for each doctoral thesis, along with joint supervision by senior researchers from all three collaborating institutions. The overarching objective is to nurture a new cohort of young researchers poised to seamlessly integrate into educational and cultural institutions, museums, and archives worldwide.
Professor Yfaat Weiss, the director of the Dubnow Institute and a member of the Faculty of Humanities at the Hebrew University, expressed her enthusiasm for leading the school. She highlighted the inception of this collaborative venture in 2019 and the hope to launch the first cycle in Jerusalem in August 2024, emphasizing the timeliness of deepening understanding in Jewish history against the backdrop of current global challenges.
Professor Benjamin Pollock, head of the Israeli side of the school and director of the Franz Rosenzweig Minerva Center, underscored the uniqueness of the graduate school. He highlighted the joint learning experience of Israeli and international students in Jewish studies, the diverse expertise of senior scholars, and the focus on material culture as distinguishing features. In the face of challenging times, he celebrated Jerusalem’s potential as a nexus where diverse realms of research and culture converge, expanding the horizons of academic discourse.
This joint venture brings together 13 senior researchers, including professors from the University of Leipzig, one of Germany’s oldest universities, faculty members from the Hebrew University’s Faculty of Humanities, and researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture – Simon Dubnow, a leading institute in Europe.
In the weeks to come, the school will issue a call for research student applications to be disseminated across relevant networks. Accepted students will have the unique opportunity to pursue their doctorate in one of the parent universities—Jerusalem or Leipzig—under joint supervision and full funding for a four-year program. The admissions committee will review submissions and conduct interviews with applicants, with more details forthcoming in due course.
