An Interdisciplinary Inquiry on Teaching the Holocaust

While designed for Catholic School educators, all teachers are welcome to apply.

Teachers of Catholic elementary and high schools will be engaged in discussion of the history and complexity of the Catholic and Jewish relationship. This workshop will explore the pedagogy of teaching about the Holocaust and human rights in a Catholic school classroom. As we gain an understanding of historic and contemporary antisemitism, teachers will engage in writing and reflection on a variety of topics and will leave with teacher-created lessons and resources.

In We Remember-A Reflection on the Shoah, Pope John Paul II beseeches, “May the Lord of history guide the efforts of Catholics and Jews and all men of good will as they work together for a world of true respect for the life and dignity of every human being, for all have been created in the image and likeness of God.” This seminar will move us all one step closer to his call.

Highlights:

• Keynote lectures by Father Dennis McManus and Rabbi David Fox Sandmel
• Leading Holocaust scholars
• Examination of the historical relationship between Catholics and Jews
• Consideration of best pedagogical practices using inquiry-based learning, reflective writing, and project-based learning to examine social justice and human rights in the classroom
• Course Units available from California State University, Fresno

All participants will receive:

• $100 stipend
• Books and teaching resources
• Daily breakfasts and lunches
• Intimate conversations with a Holocaust survivor and scholars
• Year-round support from a national network of TOLI educators
• Opportunity for Impact Grants up to $1,000 for classroom projects and resources

This professional development seminar is free for educators.

Please inquire about subsidies for travel and lodging.

Click here to view our flyer.

COREY HARBAUGH 

Corey Harbaugh is the director of Curriculum and Instruction for Paw Paw Public Schools, Michigan. He is also a 2013 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Teacher Fellow and a USC Shoah Foundation Master Teacher. His chapter on research into Holocaust education pedagogy is included in As the Witnesses Fall Silent: 21st Century Holocaust Education in Curriculum, Policy, and Practice (UNESCO, 2015); another chapter on teaching about the Holocaust appears in Becoming a Holocaust Educator: Purposeful Pedagogy Through Inquiry (Teachers College Press & the National Writing Project, 2021). Corey has been a dedicated TOLI teacher leader and facilitator for over a decade, including leading TOLI seminars in Michigan and Indiana, attending the TOLI New York City Summer Seminar, the TOLI Leadership Seminar, and TOLI’s trip to Poland and Israel.

In 2016, Corey was appointed by Governor Rick Snyder to the Michigan Council on Genocide and Holocaust Education, and served as primary content author and pedagogy consultant for Michigan Holocaust and Genocide Education after the passage of the Holocaust and Genocide Education mandate in Michigan. He has also worked on education and research projects with such organizations as the National Writing Project, the MacArthur Foundation, the Annenberg Rural School and Community Trust, the Spencer Foundation, National Public Radio, and the Rwandan Diaspora Community of the Midwest. He was a featured speaker at the Ambassadors for Humanity program (Detroit, 2015) and keynote speaker at the 24th Commemoration of the Genocide Against the Tutsis (2018). His chapter on fatherhood is the lead essay in the book This I Believe, on Fatherhood, and was featured on a national broadcast of the NPR program in 2011. In 2018 Corey received an award of distinction from the Zekelman Holocaust Center in Michigan for his leadership in Holocaust education in Michigan and beyond.

Corey is a lifelong resident of rural west Michigan where he continues to live, work, and raise his family. He earned his BA from Kalamazoo College in 1991 and his Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Western Michigan University in 2006.

BRENDAN MURPHY

Brendan Murphy is the founding director of the Bearing Witness Institute for Interreligious and Ecumenical Dialogue at Marist School in Atlanta, Georgia.  He has taught history at Marist since 1994 and continually demonstrates for his students and colleagues a strong commitment to fostering understanding and collaboration among diverse communities of faith. Murphy is actively involved in developing educational initiatives and created a compelling “History and the Holocaust” seminar at Marist that is complemented by co-curricular international field trips to sites in Europe that were significant during the Holocaust. 

Murphy is a thought leader on religious solidarity and an advocate for combating hate and prejudice by drawing communities together. His contributions to education and interfaith dialogue are widely recognized and embody Pope Francis’ call to use discourse as a “privileged path to the growth of fraternity and peace in our world”. Murphy has received numerous awards, including the Outstanding Educator Award from the Anne Frank Center in New York, the ADL’s Abe Goldstein Human Relations and Unsung Hero Award, and Outstanding Educator of the Year Awards from the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust. He also has been recognized as Teacher of the Year by the University of Notre Dame. Additionally, Murphy has participated in the Museum Teacher Fellowship at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Lerner Fellowship at the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous in New York City. 

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Murphy earned a Bachelor’s degree in education and history from the University of Notre Dame and holds a Master’s degree in theology from Spring Hill College. 

DONNA TARNEY

Donna Tarney is the Education Specialist at the Anne Frank Center at the University of South Carolina. She uses Anne Frank’s story as an entry point into the complex lessons of the Holocaust and human rights for students and educators from 5th grade through college.

Prior to this, Donna was the Education and Outreach Specialist at the Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center in Charlotte, NC. In that capacity, Donna created and facilitated Holocaust and human rights programs for schools and community groups throughout North and South Carolina.

Donna taught Theology, History, and Holocaust courses for thirteen years at Charlotte Catholic High School. It was there that she first learned about the roots of antisemitism. This spurred a decades-long study of the topic and a passion for sharing her discoveries with educators and community groups. She is a trained facilitator for the ADL “A World of Difference” program. She facilitates virtual and in person sessions for school educators and community groups to help them recognize all forms of bias and prejudice in their own lives and work toward building relationships across differences.

Donna holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Loyola University and earned a Certificate in Holocaust Studies from Georgetown University. She completed both the Bearing Witness and Bearing Witness Advanced programs run by the ADL and Yad Vashem. She graduated from The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights in 2014 and was invited back to the Leadership Seminar in 2016. She has been co-directing regional seminars for eight years.

KEYNOTE LECTURERS

FATHER DENNIS McMANUS

Fr. Dennis McManus is a priest of the Archdiocese of Mobile in Alabama. From 1997-2006, he worked as Associate Director of the Secretariat for the Liturgy at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, DC.  He has taught as professor of liturgy at Conception Abbey Seminary, the Dominican House of Studies, Dunwoodie Seminary, St. John the Evangelist Seminary in Boston and now at Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg.  He is also the USCCB consultant for Jewish Affairs and was a member of both the Vatican-Baptist dialogue (2007-20012) and the USCCB-Reform Churches dialogue which issued its historic joint agreement on the form and recognition of baptism (2012).

Fr. McManus was associate professor of Holocaust studies in the Center for Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University from 2012 to 2022. He was general editor of Paulist Press’ Ancient Christian Writers Series from 1994-2007 and translation editor of Varsity Press’ Ancient Christian Commentary from 1995-1998 . Fr. McManus has taught courses in theology, medieval literature, classical languages and Jewish studies for 50 years. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in classical languages and philosophy from St. Mary’s College of California, a Master’s degree in historical ethics from Georgetown University and a Doctorate in historical theology from Drew University.

Fr. McManus taught secondary school for 20 years in public, private and Catholic schools. He is the former principal of St. Mary’s High School in Berkeley and Justin High School in Napa. At present, he is professor of theology at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park. Fr. McManus resides at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, where he serves as Spiritual Director. 

RABBI DAVID FOX SANDMEL

Rabbi David Fox Sandmel, Ph.D. is a consultant and educator specializing in interreligious/interfaith relations. He is a consultant to the Executive Board of the International Council of Christians and Jews (www.iccj.org) and Scholar in Residence at the Maine Jewish Museum. He is a past Chair of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations (www.ijcic.net).

From 2014-2022, Rabbi Sandmel was Director of Interreligious Engagement at ADL. He held the Crown-Ryan Chair of Jewish Studies at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago (2002-2014) and was a Jewish Scholar at the Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies in Baltimore (1998-2001), where he directed the publication of “Dabru Emet: A Jewish Statement on Christians and Christianity.” He was also a visiting professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in Spring 2024.

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