If you chose your eyes and imagine summer camp, you might think of obscene amounts of bug spray and making s’mores. Now picture “summer camp” for academics. Having trouble? Look no further! 

“Between Memory and the Archive: Jewish Print Culture” is a Summer Institute sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). These prestigious programs provide an immersive summer experience for academics. “Between Memory and the Archive” is directed by Barbara Mann, professor of modern Hebrew in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Case Western Reserve University. She is joined by co-directors Shani Avni, a curator and scholar from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and Lynne Avadenka, a Detroit-based artist and printmaker. 

Together, the trio hope to communicate the history of Jewish material and print culture, characterized by disasporic communities and upheaval, through the physical process of print and book-making. By the end of the two-week Institute, participants will appreciate how the social, political culture of Jewish history has conditioned the way that books are produced. 

The group will start at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, a premier New York-based organization devoted to preserving, sharing and perpetuating knowledge of East European Jewish culture worldwide. 

Then, the group will begin a 10-day residency at the Cary Graphic Archives at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The Cary currently houses a large collection of Hebrew type and letterpresses from various eras, giving the group a very hands-on experience. 

During this Institute, participants will be exposed to both the intellectual and physical understanding of printmaking. Mornings will begin with a lecture on various subjects concerning print culture and Jewish history, followed by visits to the archives to examine materials and hands-on collaborative printing sessions. By the end of the experience, each participant will have created a broadside—a letterpress print with various kinds of type—highlighting their understanding and application of the Jewish and Hebrew print process. 

“The beauty of the Institute is that you’re out of your home setting, relying on new colleagues,” Mann said. 

Each participant brings knowledge from their field and professional experience, but are working with peers from different areas. This is the magic of collaboration. 

Working with Avni and Avadenka

Mann, Avni and Avadenka talked and met regularly to decide how they would bring together technology and humanities during the Institute.

“We complement each other very well,” Mann described. “There is tremendous respect and also a sense of curiosity and invention—definitely a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.” 

Mann is looking forward to seeing how their ongoing discussions and hard work will pay off this summer with such a promising and fantastic cohort of participants. 

Learn more about “Between Memory and Archive.”