The Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum collects, preserves, and shares the diverse stories of Jewish history and culture in the National Capital Region. Through exhibitions and programs, we build connections across generations and communities, encourage reflection on the relevance of the past to today, and inspire civic and community engagement.
Description
In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the 150th of the historic Adas Israel synagogue, join Professors Laura Schiavo and M.J. Rymsza-Pawlowska for a lively discussion about how we tell this country’s origin story. This conversation will examine how public commemorations of landmark moments such as these anniversaries have changed over time, both on the national stage and in Jewish-specific celebrations. The program will be moderated by executive director Dr. Bea Gurwitz.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
M.J. Rymsza-Pawlowska is an interdisciplinary cultural historian of the 19th- and 20th-century United States and an Associate Professor of History and Public History at American University. She is the author of History Comes Alive: Public History and Popular Culture in the 1970s (University of North Carolina Press, 2017). M.J. is a New America Us@250 fellow and Smithsonian Research Associate.
M.J. serves on the Board of Directors of Humanities DC, the advisory boards for the D.C. History Center and the Humanities Truck, and as the series editor for the National Park Service and National Council on Public History’s 2021-2025 American Revolution 250th Commemoration Scholars' Forums.
She is working on two new book projects—the first about the history of visitors and newcomers to Washington titled Your Nation’s Capital: How Visitors Made Washington D.C., and Vice Versa. She is also completing a shorter monograph called The Historian and the Historian-ish: Notes on the Future of the Past.
Laura Schiavo, PhD is Deputy Director at the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at George Washington University, and an Associate Professor of Museum Studies, where she teaches classes on curatorial practice and exhibition development. Her research explores museum history and the connections between museums and identity. She is the editor of U.S. Museum Histories and the Politics of Interpretation: Never Neutral (Routledge, 2023) and several articles, including "What to Do with Heritage: The Museum of Jewish Ceremonial Objects, 1931-1943" in Radical Roots: Public History and a Tradition of Social Justice Activism (Amherst, Massachusetts: Amherst College Press, 2021). Before her academic appointment, Schiavo has served as a curator at museums throughout DC, including the National Building Museum and the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington. She holds a BA from Wesleyan University and a PhD in American Studies from George Washington University.
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Virtual attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions for the panelists in real time and will receive a webinar link 30 minutes before the start of the program. Captions will be available using Zoom webinar. YOU MUST REGISTER TO ATTEND VIRTUALLY BY 6 PM ON THURSDAY, JUNE 11 TO RECIEVE A ZOOM LINK.
Please contact Hally Silberg at hsilberg@capitaljewishmuseum.org with any questions about virtual attendance.
Image credit: Promotional photos provided courtesy of the speakers.
Date & Time
Thu, Jun 11, 2026 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM