First Principles for the University with Danielle Allen and Jonathan Haidt

01/03/25 • 63 min

Following the release of its issue on The University, SAPIR brought together leaders and experts from academia, philanthropy, and Jewish organizational life for a convening focused on identifying practical solutions to the serious challenges facing higher education. That gathering began with a discussion between Harvard University professor Danielle Allen, social psychologist and author, Jonathan Haidt and Maimonides Fund Scholar-in-Residence Rabbi David Wolpe, exploring why trust has diminished in institutions of higher education and what could be done to restore their values and faith in them. SAPIR Institute Director Chanan Weissman delivered opening remarks, a condensed version of which you will hear in this recording.

This SAPIR Conversation was recorded live in New York City on December 16, 2024.

This SAPIR Conversation was recorded live in New York City on December 16, 2024.

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S15E2: The Purpose of the University with Ari Berman and Ron Liebowitz

The modern university is at a crossroads. Is it still defined by its foundational mission to cultivate curiosity and advance knowledge, or is it defined by advocacy and activism centered around certain moral absolutes? And where do Jewish students, faculty, and ideas fit in? Listen as SAPIR Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens interviews Yeshiva University President Ari Berman and former Brandeis University President Ron Liebowitz to discuss the purpose of the modern university and the role for Jews and Jewish ideas on campus.

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S15E3: “Academia’s Palestine Exception” with Shaul Kelner

Critical theory – the study of the ways “oppression gets produced and reproduced within and across societies” – is the dominant method of inquiry in many areas of higher education, especially in the humanities and social sciences. Yet many scholars resist applying it honestly to the study of the Jewish people and Zionism. Were they to do so, argues Vanderbilt professor Shaul Kelner, they might find they had entirely misunderstood these categories and the place of Jews in the oppressor/oppressed dynamic.

On Tuesday, January 7, Professor Kelner joined SAPIR Associate Editor Felicia Herman to unpack his essay, “Turning Critical Theory on Its Head,” and discuss whether and how this might be changed.