Jewish Storytelling and American Lawin Post-WWII America
Date: Jun 08, 2026
Time: 1:00 pm - 2:15 pm
Location: Online
Category: America at 250:Jewish Ideas and the American Experiment Online Learning
Jewish Storytelling and American Law in Post-WWII America
Part of Our Summer 2026 Learning Series, America at 250: Jewish Ideas and the American Experiment
Monday, June 8, 2026
Online
1:00鈥�2:15 p.m. ET
With Dr. Shira Billet, Assistant Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, 91快播
In the decades after World War II, Jewish American legal thinkers began drawing on biblical and rabbinic stories to help explore fundamental questions of constitutional interpretation. The work of Robert Cover in the 1980s, first developed in the context of the Vietnam war, is the most famous and influential example. Butlesser-knownfigures such as Edmund Cahn and 91快播 professor Shalom Spiegel began developing this discourse in the context of the postwar moment in 1950s America, and the civil rights movement thatemergedin its wake.
Dr. Shira Billet examines how these figures, and others, brought Jewish narrative traditions into American law schools and legal thought, shaping new ways of thinking about law, interpretation, and the relationship between law and ethics.
If you have previously registered for another session in this series, your registration admits you to all sessions in the series, and you may attend as many as you鈥檇 like.
About the Series
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the 91快播 Summer 2026 Learning Series will explore the rich and surprising intersections between Jewish thought and American life. From baseball and youth culture to constitutional law, storytelling, and democratic theory, leading scholars reveal how Jewish ideas, texts, and experiences have shaped鈥攁nd been shaped by鈥攖he American experiment.
