UVA Hosts Inaugural UVA-Duke Jewish Studies Graduate Conference

Over the weekend of April 11 and 12, 2026, the UVA Jewish Studies Program hosted the Inaugural UVA-Duke Jewish Studies Graduate Conference, featuring panels on Hebrew Bible and Rabbinics, Modern European Jewish Thought, Jewish-Christian Affinities and Tensions, and Precariousness. Four Mark J. Friedman Family Jewish Studies graduate fellows from UVA, five Duke University graduate students, and one Princeton University graduate student spoke on topics ranging from Leviticus, Rabbinic interpretation, and Rashi’s Psalms commentary to the thought of Leo Baeck, Walter Benjamin, and Eliezer Berkowitz to contemporary issues related to empathy, memory, and German cityscapes after October 7th. The weekend was filled with lively conversations, opportunities to learn about the wide range of research graduate students in Jewish Studies conduct, and excellent food!