The Switzer-Cooperstock Prize in Western Canadian Jewish History

 

The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada invites applications for the 2024 Switzer-Cooperstock Prize in Western Canadian Jewish History. This prize, established by the Switzer family to honour parents and grandparents, will be awarded for a publishable essay on Jewish history in Western Canada with some preference for essays on secular Jewish schools in Western Canada, Jewish settlers, farmers, and traders in rural areas of Western Canada, and the immigration experience of Jews to Western Canada. Preference will be given to research specific to the Jewish experience in the urban centers and rural communities of the Canadian Prairie Provinces.

The research may use original sources or it may be a synthesis of other published material.

To apply, submit a finished but unpublished essay (work published within the last two years is also eligible) or write a letter identifying the research project, the problem to be solved, previous scholarship, the sources used, and the preliminary results. Include a CV. The deadline for applications is May 1, 2024. Applications will be considered by an academic panel and the results will be announced on or about June 1, 2024.

The winner will receive $6,000 and will present his/her findings at a  lecture in Winnipeg in Fall 2024. The Jewish Heritage Centre will publish the lecture in print form and/or electronically unless the winner wishes to make other arrangements.

Past winners are Prof. Theodore Friedgut, University of Jerusalem for an essay on the Lipton farm colony (2008); Prof. Lynne Marks, University of Victoria, for an essay on religion and identity in British Columbia (2010); Chana Thau, independent scholar, for an essay on growing up in small towns in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (2012); Prof. David Koffman, York University, for an essay on Jewish participation in the collecting and selling of Indigenous artifacts before the First World War (2014); Prof. Esyllt Jones, University of Manitoba, for an essay on Mindel Cherniack Sheps and the Founding of Medicare in Canada (2016); Prof. Richard Menkis (UBC) for an essay on Rabbis J.H. Hertz and Yeshaya Horowitz and their observations of the Canadian West,  Sharon Graham for her essay on Pearl Finkelstein (2020), and Jordan Stanger-Ross and Lynn Marks for their paper on Holocaust remembrance in Victoria, B.C.

To apply or request further information, contact Mr. Stanislao Carbone, Director of Programs and Exhibits, Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada; 123 Doncaster Street; Winnipeg Canada , R3N 2B2. Email: [email protected].

 

The Switzer-Cooperstock Student Prize in Western Canadian Jewish History 

The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada invites applications for the 2025 Switzer-Cooperstock Prize in Western Canadian Jewish History.  This prize, established by the Switzer family to honour their parents and grandparents, will be awarded for the best student essay on Jewish history in Western Canada with some preference for essays on secular Jewish schools in Western Canada, Jewish settlers, farmers, and traders in rural areas of Western Canada, and the immigration experience of Jews to Western Canada. Preference will be given to research specific to the Jewish experience in the urban centers and rural communities of the Canadian Prairie Provinces.

The research may use original sources, or it may be a synthesis of other published material.

Eligibility: All students who have not yet taken their Ph.D. examinations and who have been enrolled in a post-secondary educational institution during academic years Fall 2023 Winter 2025 Their essays may have been written in connection with course work, thesis or dissertation research, or for presentation at scholarly meetings, etc.  Submissions should be no longer than 35 pages, double-spaced and should be accompanied by a letter of nomination from a faculty member involved with the student’s supervision.  Electronic submissions are encouraged.

To apply or request further information, contact Mr. Stanislao Carbone, Director of Programs and Exhibits, Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada; 123 Doncaster Street; Winnipeg Canada, R3N 2B2. Email: [email protected] deadline for applications is May 15, 2025.  Applications will be considered by an academic panel and the results will be announced about June 15, 2025.

The winner will receive $1,000 and will present his or her findings publicly in Fall 2025.  Depending on conditions, the lecture may be virtual or in-person.

The Jewish Heritage Centre will post the winning essay on its website unless other arrangements are made for publication.

 

 

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