It’s not an academic conference, this year covering ‘Food & Drink in Jewish Culture’
The Greenfield Summer Institute may feature a lineup of academic speakers, but it’s not an academic conference, said director Nina Caputo. It’s more like “summer camp for adults.”
That’s how the late Ros Greenfield, one of the institute’s founders, once described the program, according to associate director Gwen Walker. It is also an opportunity for lifelong Jewish learning.
This July, the Greenfield Summer Institute is returning for its 26th consecutive year, focusing on the topic, “Food & Drink in Jewish Culture.” Registration is currently open.
“This [theme] was actually my idea, and it was partially rooted in the fact that I just find food fascinating,” Caputo said. “It’s a really important way to understand the rich tapestry of Jewish culture and life over the centuries and in different places.”
To accurately represent the diasporic nature of Judaism and its food, the institute is bringing in experts on time periods from antiquity to the modern era, and from Latin America to Eastern Europe.
The four-day event will be jam-packed with 13 speakers and two documentary showings, but it isn’t a comprehensive representation of all Jewish culture and food, Caputo said. It is a bird’s-eye view introduction to themes that span the Jewish world.
Theme and subject matter aren’t the only aspects of the Greenfield Summer Institute that span the Jewish world. While some attendees are Wisconsin natives, many others travel from all over.
“All of the attendees are very friendly, and it’s a very welcoming space,” said Outreach Specialist Amie Goblirsch. “A lot of people come … from all over the country, so it’s a really interesting place to meet people. A lot of them are also [University of Wisconsin-Madison] alumni, so it turns into a mini reunion for some people as well.”
Recently, one of Caputo’s graduating students expressed anxiety to her about entering the workforce and no longer having access to learning resources, she said. She hopes the Greenfield Summer Institute can help address some of those anxieties.
“This is something that you can do without any kind of commitment. It’s something that you can continue to do to nourish your soul as you go into the business world,” Caputo said.
The institute is very laid back, Walker continued. No one is expected to prepare anything in advance. Although the speakers are academics with extensive research in their back pockets, they are dedicated to presenting it in an accessible manner, she said.
“The whole point is to bring everyone in and to make it available to a wide audience, not just people like me, who live in books,” Caputo joked.
Join this diverse audience of learners July 20-23 on the UW-Madison campus. For more information, visit Cjs.wisc.edu/greenfield.
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