The Latke Hamantash debate, a beloved University of Chicago tradition, will return for its 79th year on Feb. 22, with an event entitled “Snackonomics: The hidden forces that shape what we eat.”
This year’s debate over the superior Jewish holiday food will feature three UChicago scholars: Joseph Dov Bruch, an assistant professor of public health science in the Biological Sciences Division; Linda Ginzel, a clinical professor of managerial psychology at the Booth School of Business; and Avner Strulov-Shlain, an associate professor of marketing at Chicago Booth .
The debate is a celebrated tradition hosted by UChicago Hillel, a campus center for Jewish life. Since 1946, the debate has featured Nobel Prize winners, past UChicago presidents and faculty from across the disciplines. The debate—which pits the latke, a potato pancake traditionally eaten during Hannukah, against the hamantash, the triangular pastries with sweet filling eaten during Purim— is often humorous and always intellectual. The event, which will begin at 7 p.m. CT at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, also will be webcast here.
Learn more about this year’s debaters:
Joseph Dov Bruch, is a social epidemiologist and health policy researcher. His work asks a range of novel questions centered on the compatibility of different financial systems and actors with population health and health care management, expenditure and quality.
Linda E. Ginzel specializes in negotiation, managerial psychology, leadership and executive development. She has authored a best-selling book, Choosing Leadership, which helps people build what she calls Leadership Capital—the capacity to decide when to manage and when to lead.
Avner Strulov-Shlain researches the behavioral economics of firms. He uses observational data, along with lab, field and natural experiments, to explore how companies interact with consumers.
Those interested in attending the debate, either in person or virtually, should RSVP here. Learn more at UChicago Hillel’s debate event page.
