Janet Kerekes

Presently, Dr. Kerekes lives in Budapest, Hungary, where she now makes her home. Prior to that, she lived in Toronto and was involved in many aspects of education. This included teaching secular studies at private Jewish schools, teaching an ESL program she designed, and then becoming a student herself at the University of Toronto, where she earned her doctorate in European history. This was followed by working as a teaching assistant at Ryerson University and then working in an individually designed program for students who needed special support at George Brown College. Once in Budapest, she taught seminars on Jewish assimilation at Eotvos Lorand University. She was also founder and director of the Synagogue Program, an effort to connect Jewish communities in Central Europe with synagogues in Toronto. Before embarking on this educational path, she was occupied raising her five children. Her research interest primarily revolves around nineteenth- and twentieth-century social history. Out of this interest came her book on Jewish assimilation, a essay on the Jewish contribution to European integration, and a soon to be published book on multiculturalism. Two others are currently in the works, one on Communism, the other on the detachment of American Jews from their European roots.