Dr. Susan Jacobowitz - English

Susan Jacobowitz, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of English                                      

Office: (718) 281-5021  

[email protected]

Queensborough Community College. The City University of New York                                                      

222-05 56th Avenue, Bayside, NY 11364-1497                       

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Education:
Ph.D, English and American Literature, Brandeis University;
MFA, English and Creative Writing, Mills College,
MA History, Arizona State University;
BA Liberal Arts/Humanities, Arizona State University.

Courses I Teach:
English 101: Introduction to Composition, English 102: Introduction to Literature, English 263: Holocaust Literature, English 264: Exploring Graphic Genres
 
Teaching Philosophy:
I believe that education is an essential part of finding out who we are and figuring out how to be in the world. It changes lives and opens doors.  

Research Interests:
Second- and third-generation literature and experience (works by children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors), graphic literature, the conflicts and challenges of post-war Jewish identity, interdisciplinary humanities education

Publications:

Book Chapters, Essay Collections

“Singing History,” Researchers Remember: Research as an Arena of Memory for Offspring of Holocaust Survivors: A Collected Volume of Academic Autobiographies. Judy Tyler Baumel-Schwartz and Shmuel Refael-Vivante (eds.), Peter Lang Publishers, 2021.

“Holocaust Education Revisited: Incorporating Campus-Based Cultural Resources into the Humanities Curriculum,” Near but Far: Holocaust Education Revisited, Ludwig Maximilian University, forthcoming spring 2019.

“Teaching the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict in the Community College Classroom,” in Rachel Harris (ed.), Teaching the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, Wayne State Press, forthcoming 2019.

“Social Justice Approaches to Holocaust, Genocide, and Mass Violence Education,” in Amy E. Traver and Dan Leshem (eds.), Humanistic Pedagogy Across the Disciplines: Approaches to Mass Atrocity Education in the Community College Context, Palgrave Macmillan, October 2018.

“In the Beginning: Art Spiegelman’s ‘Prisoner on the Hell Planet,’” in Derek Parker Royal (ed.), Coloring America, Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, forthcoming 2019.

“Chosen No More: The New Literature of Leaving,” in Yossi Goldstein (ed.), Religion and Nationalism: The Struggle for Modern Jewish Identity, Series in Contemporary Judaism.  Ariel University Center, 2014.

“‘Hardly There Even When She Wasn’t Lost’: Orthodox Daughters and the ‘Mind-Body’ Problem in Contemporary Jewish American Fiction,” in Derek Parker Royal (ed.), Unfinalized Moments: Essays in the Development of Contemporary Jewish American Narratives.  Purdue University Press, December 2011.

“Jewish Writers in Australia,” in Amit Sarwal and Reema Sarwal (eds.), Reading Down Under: Australian Literary Studies Reader.  New Delhi: SSS Publications, 2009.  First published in Nicholas Birns and Rebecca McNeer (eds.), Companion to Australian Literature after 1900.  Rochester, New York: University of Rochester Press, Camden House, November 2007.

“Chuck E. Cheese at Noon: Adventures in Parenting and Academe,” in R. Hile Bassett (ed.), Parenting and Professing:  Balancing Family Work With an Academic Career.  Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, June 2005.

“‘Hardly There Even When She Wasn’t Lost’: Orthodox Daughters and the ‘Mind-Body’ Problem in Contemporary Jewish American Fiction,” Behlau, Ulrike and Bernard Reitz (eds.), Jewish Women’s Writings of the 1990s and Beyond in Great Britain and the United States.  Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2003.

“Words and Pictures Together: An Interview with Art Spiegelman,” in Joseph Witek (ed.), Art Spiegelman: Conversations.  Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2007.  First published in Writing on the Edge, Volume 6, Number 1, Fall 1994/Winter 1995.

Journal Articles

“‘Reffos, Wogs and Dagoes:’  The Immigration Experience in Post-World War II Australia,” in Ilha Do Desterro: A Journal of English Language, Literature, in English and Cultural Studies, Revista de Lingua Inglesa, Literaturas em Ingles E Estudos Culturais, Santa Catarina, Brazil, v. 69, n. 2 (2016), pp. 77-84.

“The Conflicts and Challenges of Judaism in Texts by Second Generation Authors,” in Daniel Walden and Evelyn Avery (eds.), Studies in American Jewish Literature, “Towards Tradition: Contemporary American Jewish Authors and Their Response to Judaism,” Volume 25, 2006.

“The Holocaust Daughter:  The Poetry and Fiction of Lily Brett,” Australian Journal of Jewish Studies, Melbourne, Australia, 2006.

“‘Hardly There Even When She Wasn’t Lost’: Orthodox Daughters and the ‘Mind-Body’ Problem in Contemporary Jewish American Fiction,” Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies, Spring 2004.

Book Reviews

Eugene Yelchin, Breaking Stalin’s Nose, Arcady’s Goal, The Haunting of Falcon House. In East European Jewish Affairs, Special Issue: The New Wave of Russian Jewish American Culture, Guest Editor Anna Katsnelson, Issue 3, Vol. 46, 320 pages, 2016.

Richard Schickel, Woody Allen: A Life in Film. In Post Script: Essays in Film and the Humanities, Winter/Spring 2012.

Samantha Baskind and Ranen Omer-Sherman, eds., The Jewish Graphic Novel: Critical Approaches. In Journal of American Ethnic History, 2009.

Maeera Shreiber, Singing in a Strange Land: A Jewish American Poetics. In Clio: A Journal of Literature, History, and the Philosophy of History, 2009.

Victoria Aarons, What Happened to Abraham? Reinventing the Covenant in American Jewish Fiction. In Philip Roth Studies, Fall 2005.

Campus Cultural Centers

Kupferberg Holocaust Center exterior lit up at nightOpens in a new window
Kupferberg Holocaust Center Opens in a new window

The KHC uses the lessons of the Holocaust to educate current and future generations about the ramifications of unbridled prejudice, racism and stereotyping.

Russian Ballet performing at the Queensborough Performing Arts CenterOpens in a new window
QPAC: Performing Arts CenterOpens in a new window

QPAC is an invaluable entertainment company in this region with a growing national reputation. The arts at QPAC continues to play a vital role in transforming lives and building stronger communities.

Queensborough Art Gallery exterior in the afternoonOpens in a new window
QCC Art Gallery

The QCC Art Gallery of the City University of New York is a vital educational and cultural resource for Queensborough Community College, the Borough of Queens and the surrounding communities.