The Holocaust: Reflections from the UVA Classroom

Overview

From documentary films to political debates, Holocaust images shape our discourse on democracy and inform our search for key lessons from the past. How do those trends manifest inside the college classroom? Two leading University of Virginia experts on Holocaust research and education, James Loeffler, the Jay Berkowitz Professor of Jewish History and the Ida and Nathan Kolodiz Director of Jewish Studies, and Victoria Barnett, the Frank Talbott, Jr. Distinguished Visiting Professor of Holocaust Studies, will discuss their research of and experiences teaching about the Holocaust.

Speaker Biographies

James Loeffler, Jay Berkowitz Professor of Jewish History and the Ida and Nathan Kolodiz Director of Jewish Studies

James Loeffler is the Jay Berkowitz Professor of Jewish History at the University of Virginia, where he serves as the Ida and Nathan Kolodiz Director of Jewish Studies. His prize-winning scholarship includes his 2018 book, Rooted Cosmopolitans: Jews and Human Rights in the Twentieth Century. He is a fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research and co-editor of the Association for Jewish Studies Review. His public commentary on antisemitism and civil rights frequently appears in The Atlantic.

Victoria Barnett, Frank Talbott, Jr. Distinguished Visiting Professor of Holocaust Studies

Victoria Barnett is the Frank Talbott, Jr. Distinguished Visiting Professor of Holocaust Studies at the University of Virginia, one of the world’s preeminent scholars of religion and the Holocaust, and a leading expert on the German Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Before joining UVA, she served as Director of Programs on Ethics, Religion, and the Holocaust at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.