Samuel D. Gruber, Ph.D, is the founder and managing director of Gruber Heritage Global (GHG) - a cultural resources consulting firm. GHG includes the Jewish Heritage Research Center (JHRC), which he has directed since 1995, and also serves the not-for-profit International Survey of Jewish Monuments (ISJM). Gruber Heritage Global serves as consultant and adviser to numerous organizations, institutions, private foundations, government agencies and individuals. He was trained as a medievalist, architectural historian and archaeologist, with a special expertise in Jewish art, architecture and historic sites and is an accomplished researcher, author, curator and consultant. His blog can be found here, http://samgrubersjewishartmonuments.blogspot.com/, and offers a more in-depth look at his recent work.
This spring, Dr. Gruber will be teaching a new course for the Jewish Studies Program, "Saving Synagogues: Architecture, Historic Preservation and Communication" (JWST 4517). The course will be offered for four credits on Tuesdays from 10:10AM to 12:05PM.
For almost two thousand years the synagogue has been the focal point of Jewish life and identity. It has been the most prominent of Jewish buildings, for Jews and non-Jews. Thousands of synagogues have been built, but few synagogues are included in the traditional corpus of architectural history. Until recently, there was little systematic information on synagogue history, design and condition.
"Saving Synagogues" has three main interrelated themes: the architectural and design requirements of the synagogue and how these have been adapted and interpreted through time; the historic preservation and adaptive reuse of synagogues in Europe and America; and the use of synagogues as sites of memory either as memorials or museums commemorating the Holocaust in Europe or the American experience of immigration and acculturation.
More information on other courses offered by the Jewish Studies Program can be found by clicking here.
