Program for Jewish Civilization

Jacques Berlinerblau

Welcome to the Program for Jewish Civilization  at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

The PJC mission is to produce, advance, promote and disseminate cutting-edge scholarship on Jewish Civilization. As we understand the term, Jewish Civilization encompasses contemporary Middle Eastern politics, literature, theology, history, the cultures of the Diaspora, the study of traditional and non-traditional Judaisms, interactions with non-Jewish civilizations, and so much more.

To do justice to these subjects we aim for intellectual heterogeneity, not idealogical purity. This explains why we have hosted writers as distinct (and as preternaturally gifted) as Cynthia Ozick and A.B. Yehoshua. It accounts for why we have had orthodox rabbis teach for us as well as Jewish atheists. It is our rationale for having conservative Evangelical pastors address our students, as well as those who research Queer Judaisms. Former heads of state, congresspersons, and diplomats routinely come to the Hilltop, as do prominent religious leaders, nonbelievers and, most importantly, legions of scholarly experts. Our goal is to put an intellectual product of the highest quality in front of students who will be the leaders of the next generation: that is how we define our mission.

So, welcome to the site. Here you will find a list of our lectures and events (we average about 25 or so of these per school year, so please check frequently), downloadable publications, videotaped lectures, updates on the scholarship of our faculty, student profiles, links to happenings of interest at Georgetown, and so much more. Peruse, enjoy, and we look forward to seeing you on the Hilltop.