INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Students combine art and social justice

By Dr. Suzanne Seriff, Director

The intersection of arts and social justice was the focus of much that was new in this year’s internship program—from first-time guest speakers to student internship projects, to the original poems, videos, lesson plans, and artworks of the students’ final reflections. This arts and social justice focus drew students enrolled in a museum studies concentration through The University’s Bridging Disciplines Program (a program that allows undergraduates to develop a secondary area of specialization that complements their major), as well as those from diverse colleges such as Business, Social Work, Liberal Arts, and STEM fields.

Students in the social justice internship program meet each week for a twohour seminar-style class in which they have the opportunity to hear directly from community members who have committed their lives to making the world better. Guest speakers typically include Jewish social justice lawyers, health professionals, union officials, and immigration advocates. With the additional focus on arts, we welcomed artists, art scholars, and museum professionals to our weekly line-up. Each of them spoke to the importance of art as a way to address issues of war, injustice, and horror in our world. Perhaps coincidentally, several also situated their work within their own personal and historical contexts as first-generation children of Holocaust survivors. Questions of memory, history, and trauma were woven through the stories of dancer, dance historian, and performance scholar, Rebecca Rossen; Russian and Ukrainian multimedia artist, Yuliya Lanina; Blanton Museum Director, Simone Wicha; and material culture scholar, Laura Levitt. The students reported being nothing less than “star struck” by these up close and personal conversations with world-renowned artists and art-world figures, taking to heart their advice, as Simone Wicha said, “To imagine yourself in the space you want to be, and take the steps, one at a time, to get there.”

Many of the host organizations chosen by the students for their 10 hour a week internship experiences this year reflected their passion for exploring this intersection of art and social justice. These included the Blanton Museum of Art, the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, Texas Folklife, and Art from the Streets. Even an internship at a local hospice for Alzheimer patients provided an opportunity for one student to highlight art as a window into memory and meaning. The intern published a series of newsletter profiles on each resident focused on objects of significance in their lives: a ring, a stuffed animal, a remembered song. For one social work student, an internship at Art from the Streets, an organization that offers a safe, creative space for those experiencing homelessness to make and sell their art, provided important ethical lessons for how to effectively engage and assist populations in need. In her words,

As a soon-to-be social worker, I went in wanting to fix, wanting to find solutions to the complex, and systemic problem of homelessness. I quickly learned that while these are important and key aspects of helping people escape the deathly grasp of homelessness, that wasn't my role. Instead, I found the power of connection that the studio provided the artists to be the core of the organization.

Finally, I wanted to share the power of art as a way to express some of the important “lessons of our ancestors” that the students have gained from our Jewish text study throughout the semester. In a final “Passover Freedom” event this spring, during which the students were asked to read a personal reflection on the Passover themes of freedom and liberation, two of the students chose to create original poems for the occasion. I end with the first stanza of one of the poems, titled: “In a Journey from a Narrow Place,” which gives you a taste of the power of art for these internship students as a window into issues of conscience in our lives and our times (the full poem appears on page 5):

In a journey from a narrow place, “See the other as a brother.” To understand the travels of the other, we are taught - narrow the space, to bridge the gap between the Others -- and Us. —Mateo Osuna

start organization focused on Jewish academic and social aspects

Published in The Daily Texan, by Ali Juell, February 7, 2023

The Jewish Studies Undergraduate Students’ Association is kicking off its first full semester as an organization— its focus is to fill an unmet need organizers say they noticed on campus.

The organization is for students both inside and outside the Jewish studies program who are interested in learning and discussing Jewish studies with other students. The group aims to showcase and discuss the diversity present within Jewish history and experiences through an academic lens.

JSUSA president Simon Gerst said he was surprised there were no Jewish studies focused clubs on campus. He said he started the group to help students within the major find common ground.

“There wasn’t really any sort of Jewish studies committee (in the past),” said Gerst, a German studies, Jewish studies, and Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian studies senior. “I want the club to expose people to what it means to be Jewish and what it means to be Jewish in Texas.”

Samantha Pickette, faculty adviser to the group and Jewish studies professor, said the organization is a great way for students to get involved in an academic way that differs from other Jewish student groups like Texas Hillel and Chabad.

“It’s very heartening to see Jewish studies students and students interested in Jewish studies coming together on their own volition just because they want to be there,” said Pickette, assistant director of the Schusterman Center for Jewish studies.

Gerst said the group plans to host a number of events that foster academic and social relationships, including movie nights, talks with professors and socials.

JSUSA event coordinator Elijah Kahlenberg said the group is open to and includes people from different Jewish and non-Jewish backgrounds.

“Many are coming from their own unique Jewish community, and it’s really hard to branch out of that,” said Kahlenberg, a government, Middle East studies and Jewish studies sophomore.

“We’re not just focusing on, say, one aspect of Jewish history; we’re focusing on anything and everything.”

Mia Hay, social media chair and fellow founding member, said the group’s programming is built around members’ varying interests, which range from topics like female Jewish poetry to Jewish storytelling and playwriting.

“Every time someone new joins, we have another interest to explore,” said Hay, a gender studies and Jewish studies junior. “It’s really exciting to see how it’s going to branch out”

As the group looks forward, Hay said they hope to include service opportunities and to offer more programming in specific areas of Jewish study.

Gerst said he is excited for the group to continue expanding and providing a learning space for even more students.

“I think we make each other better just because we get to be more well-rounded, better informed people,” Gerst said. “It’s a way to have community but then also to expand your horizons.”

The group meets every other Thursday at the Schusterman Center in Patton Hall at 5 p.m. and has ongoing membership.

“Everybody’s from a different discipline, different major, different area of study, and so nobody knows about everything.” Pickette said. “You don’t have to come prepared. You just really have to come open-minded and wanting to learn something, wanting to communicate and build connections with the people around you.”