Month: March 2022

Professor Povitz's Courses

I took History of Radicalism with Professor Povitz and it was one of the best classes I took throughout all my time at Middlebury. Through a thoughtfully constructed syllabus, Professor Povitz offered us a wide variety of engaging and meaningful texts, asked discussion-provoking questions, and enabled students to examine radicalism and activist movements in the US and our personal relationships to them. Professor Povitz has incredibly high expectations of her students and supported us all in reaching them with detailed and meaningful feedback (verbal and written). She found the perfect balance between pushing us as scholars and recognizing and holding space for us as humans in the middle of an incredibly stressful global pandemic. Professor Povitz exemplifies the best type of professor Middlebury can offer: one who pushes her students, knows the class material inside and out, holds space for students and their lives outside the classroom, and enables students to connect broader themes with their own lives. Other Middlebury students deserve to get to know and learn from Professor Povitz, and I truly hope that the College will reconsider her tenure decision.

Kendal Pittman 21.5

general

I have never personally had a class with Professor Povitz but I have seen the ways she has deeply impacted my friends and peers and she is an essential part of this community. 

Phoebe Brown 22.5

Professor Povitz's Courses

Professor Povitz taught my History of Sexuality class last Spring and it was one of my favorite courses I’ve taken during all my time at Middlebury. First and foremost, I always felt supported by her. She is incredible at emphasizing that mental health is paramount and that she is a resource for students to come to if needed. Secondly, Professor Povitz was great at creating a space within our academic classroom where people felt comfortable engaging and sharing their experiences. I had amazing conversations/discussions in that class and one of the main reasons is because of the supportive environment she helped to foster. Lastly, I learned so much! Her lectures were very insightful and you could see her passion shine through. Losing Professor Povitz would be a huge loss to Middlebury and the diverse, inclusive, vibrant community that we strive to uphold. 

Anna Saviano 2022.5

History Department and Advising

In the short time that I’ve known her, Professor Povitz has already proven to be one of the most engaging, genuine, and intelligent Professors on this campus. She cares deeply about her work, which makes learning from her so much more fulfilling and valuable. She teaches history in a way that inspires students to look carefully at the past and present in order to shape a future. She is truly invaluable to the History department and the college as a whole. We must keep Professor Povitz.

Sade Awodesu CO 2025

Professor Povitz's Courses

I took an Oral History Class with Professor Povitz this J-term. Not only were classes engaging, and discussions interesting, but Professor Povitz had a brilliant way of introducing her expertise in the oral history field as an approachable yet expert insight. She never assumed she had the right technique and took our class’ projects as learning opportunities for her own work, while pushing us to find projects and storylines which were both engaging and respectful. I was excited to come to class because I knew I would be pushed yet heard and I learned so much in our class together.

general

Though I never had a class with Professor Povitz, I had the pleasure of learning from her…a true testament to her engagement in the Middlebury community. In my time at Middlebury, I grew to know her as an avid supporter of student voices and an advocate for equity. Professors such as professor Povitz, so giving of their time and energy to students who are not in their class, are few and far between. She is the embodiment of the liberal arts curriculum that the College champions — I fondly recall running into her at late night lectures hosted by departments far from her own. Professor Povitz is a professor who makes Middlebury the great college it is. Without her knowledge, enthusiasm, and mentorship, the college will suffer a tremendous loss.

Building Jewish Community, History Department and Advising, Supporting Queer Students

Professor Povitz was my first advisor and a vital piece to the beginning of my Middlebury experience. She is an engaging, powerful professor, both because of her humor and personality and the identities she holds. She is an essential asset to Middlebury and especially to the Jewish and queer communities, and it would be a real loss to the community at large if we lost her expertise and her energy.

Building Jewish Community, History Department and Advising

I write in support of the hire of Professor Lana Povitz. I had the pleasure of taking her courses on the History of US Radicalism and on Gender Sexuality and Psychiatry. Both of these classes had some of the best syllabi I have encountered at Middlebury, in terms of their thoughtfulness, their course content, and her judicious appraisal of the right amount of coursework. She possess a refined grasp of the narrative arc of the semester and how each week contributes a distinctive element with coherent and connected content and readings. She also hands out a guide to reading strategically for students who are new to history courses. It helps them learn how to prioritize the main concepts in the reading, understand that they do not need to read every last word, and guides them in taking effective notes. Professor Povitz is incredibly intentional in her history classes in providing foundational readings that ground us in the time periods we study such as The God that Failed by Richard Wright, and leading secondary sources that place it in a wider context from a contemporary perspective, such as the work of Robin DG Kelly. Through a combination of lectures, discussion, and weekly student presentations and discussion posts, Professor Povitz ensured that her entire class was actively participating and had a firm grounding in the important historical markers of the time period. She emphasizes discussions that confront the past while grappling with how it impacts our moment today. Professor Povitz is known for her intellectual capacity and her thorough knowledge of the source materials for all of the diverse classes she teaches. Her ability to lead in the classroom is self-evident. Her thoughtfulness and care for her students both inside and outside of the classroom distinguishes her at Middlebury. I have spent countless hours in her office hours while taking her classes and outside of her classes seeking her advice while working on other projects. I have witnessed how she has helped other students refine their ideas, and their work and watched her help them articulate their interests and passions. She helps students recognize that their ideas are valid. When they see connections between the historical examples they encounter through her courses and an imperative for action in the present, she assists them in clarifying their ideas and translating them into action. She has enriched the Middlebury community by helping students launch projects supporting social justice in the world. In addition to her excellent teaching, availability during office hours, and her support for students whose activism draws inspiration from her classroom, she also shows up and helps with many other student efforts. For example, last spring I sought a faculty partner who could join me in launching an informal program of Jewish text study. Professor Povitz worked with me to create a weekly text study that engaged students across all faith backgrounds. These students were often emotionally and spiritually burnt-out from the pandemic, and through text study we reinvigorated each other and provided a restorative space for the community. I am so grateful to have Professor Povitz at Middlebury and everything she does. It is my honor to recommend her hire at Middlebury.

History Department and Advising, Professor Povitz's Courses

I remember first taking a class with Professor Povitz freshmen year and being absolutely blown away by her grasp of the material, the way in which she engaged the class, and her astonishing intelligence. Since then Povitz has only grown in my mind as an incredible role model and friend. I do research with her that is both engaging and cutting edge. I do not know what Middlebury would be for me without Povitz, but I imagine it would be a lot less interesting, joyful, and challenging. Povitz has pushed me to grasp material in more nuanced ways, both encouraging me while helping me receive my full potential. Povitz is a gem of this community and I think Middlebury would be doing itself a great disservice to not recognize her for what she truly is: a cornerstone to the Jewish studies department and an incredible human and scholar.

Building Jewish Community, Professor Povitz's Courses

I took Professor Povitz’s History of U.S. Radicalism course in the spring of 2021. It was one of a handful of classes I’d taken at Middlebury that truly changed how I viewed the world. The class was incredibly well organized, each day’s materials building on the last and leading into the next. Professor Povitz’s introduced me to a variety of scholars, writers, and resources that are often left out of typical academics. We discussed radical movements on the far left and on the far right, thinking about which had worked, which had not, and why. Professor Povitz structured the class in a way that pushed me to think deeply about the issues at hand. She expected a lot from each of her students but also understood that we were in the midst of a pandemic that was challenging us all in various ways. Professor Povitz was both rigorous and compassionate. Preferring that students learn and come to class excited than that we get lost in dense readings, she changed up the syllabus at times to ensure that students were able to do the work. She also taught us important skills such as how to skim readings in a productive way that enables learning. Even though I was a senior when I took this class, hers was the first that truly taught me how to ask critical questions that tie together multiple readings and topics. These skills are ones that can be used in graduate school and even in other classes at Middlebury. Additionally, as a young Jewish woman at a college surrounded by mostly Christian peers, having a professor who shared those identities with me is inspiring and incredibly important. I was floored when I heard that Professor Povitz was not being offered tenure. She is an invaluable member of this community who has contributed so much and will continue to do so. If I were administrators at the college, I would offer her tenure in a heartbeat.

Building Jewish Community, Professor Povitz's Courses

Last semester, I took “Modern American Jewish History” with Professor Povitz, and it was my favorite class of the semester. I took the course hoping to learn more about my own place in American society, and the history of my ancestors, and I certainly got way more out of the class than I expected to. Professor Povitz’s course reshaped my thinking of Judaism and my relation to it, and connected me more with my own family and relatives. That one class with Professor Povitz has sparked deep discussions about religion among friends at college who haven’t even taken the course, which has been one of my favorite examples of learning and critical discussions taking place outside of the classroom. Outside of class, I greatly enjoyed talking with Professor Povitz about topics related to class and topics not at all related to class. It is very important to have such professors on campus, people that students can feel comfortable talking with and who happily make time to listen to the every day thoughts and musings of students. I hope that next year, I will be able to continue seeing and talking with Professor Povitz on the Middlebury campus, and be able to take more interesting and unique classes with her that cover topics and groups underrepresented in the Middlebury curricula and otherwise wouldn’t be taught here.