Upcoming Events

"Acts of Translation: Personal Stories in a Post-Survivor World"

February 28-March 2, 2026

The Holocaust Educational Foundation of Northwestern University (HEFNU) and Loyola Marymount University are pleased to announce the Spring 2026 Regional Institute on “Acts of Translation: Personal Stories in a Post-survivor World,” which will take place February 28-March 2, 2026, at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.
This HEFNU Regional Institute explores the complex state of Holocaust memory, particularly focusing on its (necessary) translation over time in graphic novels, film, theatre, the digital landscape, and material culture. The Institute recognizes that Holocaust memory neither recedes into the past nor remains static; rather, it functions as a powerful reference point in the present, shaping contemporary discussions on a host of related (and sometimes unrelated) topics. With an interest in examining digital futures and innovative art and media, coupled with pedagogical demonstrations, the Institute will unpack ways of translating Holocaust memory for new generations. The fading of first-hand testimonies, coupled with the rise of digital technology, has further complicated Holocaust memory, making acts of translation necessary to convey personal stories in a post-survivor world.
Central to the Institute is exploring the translation of various acts of testimony into something useful and effective for public/classroom interactions. With access to local resources such as the Shoah Foundation, the Museum of Tolerance, the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, UCLA, USC and a number of other universities, institutes, libraries, and their associated experts, participants will find the process of making meaning from diverse sources a profound takeaway. Moreover, with close access to local histories of survivors, emphasis will be placed on ethical and effective strategies for interpreting and presenting these and other personal narratives to diverse audiences.
The Institute aims to be helpful to fellows looking to develop a course in Holocaust memory, as well as those who wish to add a module on memory to their surveys of Holocaust history. 
Doris Bergen (University of Toronto) will deliver the keynote. Teaching faculty include:  
  • Victoria Aarons (Trinity University): Graphic novels
  • Michael Berenbaum (AJU): Film
  • Aomar Boum (UCLA): Graphic Novelist
  • Anna Hajkova (University of Warwick): The Amazing Life of Margot Heuman
  • Kathryn Huether (UCLA): Soundscapes
  • Todd Presner (UCLA): Digital Humanities tools and survivor testimonies
  • Svetlana Ushakova (Shoah Foundation): Dimensions in Testimony

Symposium on Sound and Hate Studies

April 10, 2026 

This half-day symposium at UCLA will explore the intersection of sound and hate, focusing on how auditory experiences can propagate, resist, and reflect social animosities. Through discussions and lectures, the event will present unique perspectives on various forms of hate from the lens of sound studies, drawing on diverse fields to examine a wide range of social animosities. The symposium aims to deepen the understanding of how sound influences, challenges, and shapes the dynamics of hate in society

HEFNU Virtual Speakers Bureau Highlight Event

“REPRESENTING the Holocaust: A Comparative Approach”

March 4, 2026 @ 12pm CST/10am PST

Virtual Speakers Bureau (VSB) Highlight Event: Representing the Holocaust: A Comparative Approach
Over the past eighty years, the Holocaust—one of the most systematically executed genocides in modern history—has been represented across a wide range of media: literature, music/sound, film, theater, visual art, photography, museums, memorials, and, more recently, virtual and digital environments. Each of these forms offers distinct possibilities for expression, remembrance, and education, while also presenting ethical, aesthetic, and historical challenges.
 
This Virtual Speakers Bureau brings together scholars specializing in photography, music, art, and theater to explore how different media shape our collective understanding of the Holocaust. Together, they will examine questions of representation and authorship: What can and should be expressed—and by whom? How do artistic forms mediate memory, trauma, and testimony in ways that continue to evolve with new technologies?
Huether will be joined at this HEFNU Virtual Speakers Bureau Event will feature Dr. Hilary Earl (photography) and Dr. Sam Mitschke (theater).