Rimon 2 (1922), Berlin. Hebrew / Yiddish little magazine. Courtesy of YIVO Archives.
“Between Memory and the Archive: Jewish Print Culture” will explore the historical significance and development of the design and use of Hebrew typefaces in a variety of genres, from the early modern period to the present.
Participants will gather for two weeks of in-person learning (June 15th-27th, 2025) at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, New York City and at the Cary Graphic Arts Collection at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY.
Lectures, discussions, and work with archival materials will allow participants to learn about different forms of Jewish print culture, from early modern books to contemporary typeface design. These material differences will be reinforced through both scholarly lectures and discussion, and an engagement with letterpress printing at The Cary Graphic Arts Collection.
Letterpress printing (inking the raised surface of metal or wood type letters and transferring that information to paper by the pressure of a printing press) transformed human communication and was an essential print form in the early modern and modern periods. At the RIT Cary Graphic Arts Collection, participants will learn about this history and its unique relation to Jewish print culture through a series of lectures and text-driven discussions; they will also work collaboratively to produce letterpress broadside prints, based on their own research.
A key feature of this Institute lies in this relationship between scholarship, archival research, and the hands-on practice of letterpress printing. This combination of humanities scholarship with the physical practice of traditional letterpress printing will enrich participants’ work and afford them tools and methods to invigorate their teaching. This Institute is part of the “maker turn” in the humanities, and the growing recognition of the importance of creativity as scholarship.
Applicants must be familiar with the Hebrew alphabet and with at least one Jewish language (e.g. a language that deploys Hebrew script such as Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, Judeo-Arabic, etc.).
Schedule Overview
Pre-institute virtual sessions
The Institute will begin with two mandatory virtual sessions on Tuesday, May 6th and Wednesday, June 4th. These sessions will be conducted via Zoom and introduce participants to the main themes and schedule of the Institute. During these virtual sessions, participants will also receive an orientation to archival holdings at YIVO and the Cary Graphic Arts Collection, including each institution’s on-line search platforms. Break out groups will allow participants to meet one another and share their interests.
Residential Institute in NYC (June 15-18) and at RIT (June 19-27)
The Institute will open with a Meet-and-Greet with the entire cohort and Institute directors at 6 pm on Sunday, June 15th. Institute academic sessions will begin at 9 am the morning of Monday, June 16th, at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. We will spend three days in New York City, working at the YIVO archives and other locations (the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Columbia University).
June 19th will be a travel day to Rochester. A chartered coach bus will be provided at no fee for all participants. The bus will leave New York City from a central location and travel directly to the Rochester Institute of Technology, with a stop for lunch.
The remainder of the Residential Institute will take place at the Cary Graphic Arts Collection on the RIT campus.
Logistics and Housing
NEH Stipends
Each participant receives a stipend from the NEH in the amount of $2,200 for their time commitment and to help defray the cost of attending the Institute, e.g. travel, food and lodging. This stipend is taxable as income. The Institute will provide occasional group lunches, as noted on the schedule, and coach bus travel from New York City to Rochester, NY on June 19th. Participants are otherwise responsible for arranging and paying directly for their own food, lodging and transportation for the duration of the Institute program. The Institute has arranged for blocks of rooms to be reserved in New York City and on the RIT campus.
Travel
Institute participants are responsible for arranging and paying for their own travel and should arrive in New York City in time to attend the Opening Meet and Greet at 6 pm on Sunday, June 15th 2025. Institute sessions will conclude in Rochester on the afternoon Friday, June 27th. RIT housing will be available to participants through Sunday, June 29th (see details below).
Housing accomodations in New York City
Participants will have the opportunity to reserve single dorm-style rooms, including access to a kosher kitchen, at the Residence Hall at the Jewish Theological Seminary for four nights, June 15-19. Details will be provided closer to the Institute start.
Housing accomodations in Rochester
Rooms have been reserved at two locations at RIT: On-Campus Housing at the Global Village, located at the heart of RIT campus, just a few minutes’ walk from the Cary Graphic Arts Collection, campus dining, outdoor seating, fair trade and local shopping, and fitness facilities; and the RIT Inn & Conference Center, about a 10 minutes drive by car from the Cary Graphic Arts Collection, offering a variety of amenities. Please note: there is no public transportation to and from RIT Inn & Conference Center and the Cary Graphic Arts Collection. Details on how to reserve and pay for accommodations at RIT will be provided closer to the Institute start.