This year's conference includes two tracks. On Friday March 15, one is designed for scholars, teachers, community members and college students with a specific emphasis for those who wish to explore how to teach the lessons of the Holocaust. The second track is designed specifically for high school students. Full participation is required for high school students who sign up and pre-registration is necessary, as lunch is included for high school students who join the conference.
A community art project designed in cooperation between PLU art department and the Tacoma Art Museum will be created throughout the conference. The final piece will be installed and presented on Saturday, March 16, at Tacoma Art Museum. See schedule for more information. Announcements will be made regarding the community art piece during the welcome and orientation each day.
Some of the events will be Livestreamed or recorded, to be rebroadcast on LuteCast later. Follow the entire conference on PLU's Twitter account - @PLUNEWS - with #empower.
Wednesday, March 13
6:30 p.m. "Defiance" Movie and Discussion with Sharon Rennert
Xavier 201: Nordquist Lecture Hall
Thursday, March 14
Chris Knutzen Hall, University Center
1:15 p.m. Registration
Tacoma Art Museum: Community Art Table Opens at PLU
1:45 p.m. Welcome, Orientation and Holocaust survivor Josh Gortler. (This presentation will be Livestreamed off the PLU website and Facebook page)
3:20 p.m. Break
Conference moves to Lagerquist Hall, Mary Baker Russell Music Center
3:40 p.m. Art & the Holocaust: Understanding Aesthetic Experience as Empowerment (this event will be held in the Lagerquist Concert Hall, in Mary Baker Russell Music Center on campus. This presentation will be Livestreamed both on the web and on PLU's Facebook page.)
Professor Heather Mathews will look at what role the experience of art plays in our understanding of the Holocaust. In this session, we examine artworks as tools of empowerment, from the point of view of both the victim and the descendants of the perpetrators. We look first at paintings and objects made post-war to address the issue of German guilt, and end with a presentation by faculty from the Music Department of Olivier Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time." This event is held in conjunction with PLU's School of Arts and Communication (SOAC) FOCUS Series: Empowerment. Performers include Svend Ronning, violin; Craig Rine, clarinet; Richard Treat, cello; Cameron Bennett, piano.
5:25 p.m.: Break (Conference Networking at 208 Garfield from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
High School and College Leadership Dinner and Discussion with Sharon Rennert. Pre-registration required.
7:30 p.m. Raphael Lemkin Awards Presentation and Lecture by Deborah Lipstadt at Lagerquist. (This presentation will be Livestreamed, both off the PLU web site and off the university's Facebook page.)
Deborah Lipstadt, the Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University will be the Keynote Speaker and talk on "History on Trial: My Day in Court with David Irving."
Special thanks to Connelly Law Offices for their sponsorship of this year's Raphael Lemkin Lecture.
Dessert Reception – Chris Knutzen Hall
Friday, March 15
8:30 a.m. -9 a.m. Registration at Chris Knutzen Hall in the Anderson University Center.
Tacoma Art Museum: Community Art Table Opens at PLU
8:45 a.m.: Welcome and Orientation. Film with Discussion, presented by Sharon Rennert (This presentation will be videotaped, and rebroadcast at a later time.)
10:30 a.m. -11 a.m. – Chapel at Lagerquist.
Dr. Frank Kline, Dean, School of Education and Movement Studies: "Experiences at Kaminets Poldolski"(This presentation will be videotaped, and rebroadcast at a later time.)
11 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Dual Track Begins**
Teachers/College Students/General Public
*Pre-registration is requested. A dining guide will be available in the program. All attendees are encouraged to read a community piece which will be announced in January. Books for the conference are available for pre-purchase at the Garfield Book Company located near PLU on Garfield Street. A list of books which will be referenced will be posted in January with registration and information on our Facebook page.
11:05 a.m.– Teaching with Lessons of the Holocaust , Ilana Cone Kennedy, Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center Director (Chris Knutzen Hall)
Teachers attending this session should also review the teaching materials web page, provided by the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center.
11:45 a.m. - The Forger: Cioma Schoenhaus. Professor Bob Erickson, Chair of Holocaust Studies Program, talks about how Schoenhaus used his forging skills to survive in Berlin after his family was murdered. (Chris Knutzen Hall)
12:30-1:45 p.m. Lunch Break
Research and Recipes: A prix fixe traditional Jewish meal
This limited space meal will include traditional Jewish dishes. Some of which are recipes saved in the memories of Holocaust victims as detailed in Cara De Silva's book In Memory's Kitchen. Full menu will be posted with registration in January. Watch our Facebook page for more information as well. $15 per person; 100 tickets available
Starter: Matzo ball and Chicken soup
Main: Noodle Kugel, Israeli Chopped Salad, Pita with Hummus
Dessert: Apple Strudel
1:45-3:45 p.m. – Literature and Journalism: Empowerment of a Culture (Chris Knutsen Hall)
Cara De Silva, author of "In Memory's Kitchen" and Rona Kaufman, PLU Professor and Researcher, Jewish Cooking and Recipes
11 am to 4 pm: High School Student Curriculum
Students will participate in each of two sessions, exploring differences between and importance of the terms defiance and empowerment. Students attending will gain a better understanding of and practical applications for personal responsibility, learn what it means to "identify wrongs" and gain skills toward being an "up-stander." Pre-registration required.
11:05 am to 11:45 am - Break out Sessions
- Group 1: Ms. McGoldrick: Defiance (Regency Room)
- Group 2: Mr. Coddington: Empowerment (UC 134)
- Group 3: Mr Gunovich (UC 201)
11:50 am to 12:30 pm Break out Sessions
- Group 1: Mr Coddington: Empowerment (UC 134)
- Group 2: Mr. Gunovich, College for U (UC 201)
- Group 3: Ms. McGoldrick, Defiance (Regency Room)
12:30 pm -2 pm Holocaust Survivor Talk: Susie Sherman, Regency Room (This presentation will be Livestreamed)
(A boxed lunch will be provided for students)
2:15 pm Break Out Sessions
- Group 1: Mr. Gunovich: College for U (UC 201)
- Group 2: Ms. McColdrick, Defiance (Regency Room)
- Group 3: Mr. Coddington, Empowerment (UC 134)
3 pm: My Space in My World: Becoming Green Dot: Jonathan Grove (Regency Room)
Groups reunite the Chris Knutzen Hall
4 pm: Voices of Mutuality around community engagement (This event will be videotaped for rebroadcast at a later time)
Joel Zylstra, director for the Center for Community Engagement at PLU, will discuss respect and understanding and how it stems from encountering others in intentional and meaningful ways. What started as a small PLU tutoring program with local middle school students turned into a real relationship where one couldn't distinguish the teacher from the learner or the giver from the receiver. Join us as we hear from a local middle school student, a college tutor and a teacher on what empowerment looks like when we work not to or for but with our community.
5 p.m. – Closing Remarks by Pacific Lutheran University President Thomas W. Krise.
Saturday, March 16
All Saturday events will be held at Tacoma Art Museum
12 pm - 3 pm - The Art of Reconciliation and the Holocaust
Presenters and panel members will be speaking on the impact of major events such as the Holocaust and how art was used as a tool for communities and individuals to recover. Free with museum admission.