Joyce Z. and Jacob Greenberg Center for Jewish Studies
1155 East 60th Street, Room 302A
Chicago, IL 60637
773.702.7108
ccjs@uchicago.edu

 

Events 2011 and Older

Arts, Music, and Film

October 13, 2009. Film: “Encounter Point.” Primary Sponsor: I-House Global

October 30, 2009. Film “Nine Star Hotel.” Primary Sponsor: CMES

November 17, 2009. Osvaldo Golijov Concert. Primary Sponsor: Art Presents

January 3 – February 14, 2010. Anna Shteynshleyger art installation. Primary Sponsor: The Renaissance Society

January 21, 2010. Film “Circus Palestina.” Primary Sponsor: Hebrew Circle

February 25, 2010. Film “Shiva.” Primary Sponsor: Hebrew Circle

February 27, 2010. New Budapest Orpheum Society Performance

March 13, 2010. Film “Last Happy Day,” by Lynne Shapiro. Primary Sponsor: Film Studies Center

April 4, 2010. WTTW Presents: Sounds of Faith – Chicago. Primary Sponsor: WTTW Chicago Public Media

October 25, 2010.  “Israeli Cinema’s Self-Image and the Documentaries of David Perlov.”  Screening and Panel Discussion.  Primary sponsor: Department of Cinema and Media Studies.

October 28, 2010. “Jewish Musicians at the Court of Henry VIII.”  Concert and Discussion by Fretwork. Co-sponsored with the University of Chicago Presents.

October 29, 2010.  “Birds on Fire – Jewish Music for Viols.”  Concert by Fretwork.  Primary sponsor: The University of Chicago Presents.

April 28-30, 2011. A Film Unfinished. Film screening and discussions with director Yael Hersonski.  Events dedicated to the memory of Miriam Bratu Hansen.  Co-sponsored with Doc Films, the Department of Cinema and Media Studies, the Film Studies Center, and the Human Rights Program.

May 1, 2011.  “Yom-Shoa: The New Budapest Orpheum Society Commemorates Holocaust Remembrance Day.”  Concert by the New Budapest Orpheum Society.  Primary Sponsor: Department of Music.

Conferences

“50 Years of Hebrew Culture in Israel: A Retrospective.” April 1998.

“Catastrophe and Meaning: The Holocaust and the Twentieth Century.” November 1998.

“The Poetic Imagination and Mysticism: The Poetry and Scholarship of Gershom Scholem” February 2004.

“The Two Gentlemen of Cordova: A Conference in Honor of Joel L. Kraemer.” October 2004.

“Art, Society, and Politics in Modern Hebrew Letters: A Conference in Honor of Menachem Brinker.” February, 12-13 2006.

“‘What Pertains To a Man’? Transcending Gender Boundaries in Jewish and Israeli Law.” March 1, 2010. (click here for the program)

“German and Hebrew: Histories of a Conversation.” April 15-16, 2010. (click here for the program)

“Israelite Archeology and Contemporary Israeli Identity: Reconstructions of Antiquity in Modern Israel.” April 30, 2010. (click here for the program)

“Contemporary Hebrew Writing in Translation with Rebecca Mara McKay and Alex Epstein.” May 13-14, 17-18, 2010. (click here for the program)

January 27-28, 2011. “Spiritual Exercises: From Antiquity to the Present.” Funded by the Harriet and Ulrich Meyer Fund. Co-sponsored by the France-Chicago Center and the Divinity School.

February 22, 2011. “Irish and Jewish Identities: Links and Parallels.” Funded by the Harriet and Ulrich Meyer Fund. Co-sponsored by Nicholson Center for British Studies, the Center for International Studies, and the Department of History.

March 6, 2011. “Eliezer Berkovits Symposium.” Made possible through the generous support of Philip R. and Yvonne Haag. Co-sponsored by the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies.

April 7, 2011. “Jewish City Music.”  Primary sponsor: Department of Music.

May 5-6, 2011. “Hypocrisy and Dissimulation in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.” Funded by the Harriet and Ulrich Meyer Fund and the Aronberg Fund of the Chicago Center for Jewish Studies. Co-sponsored by  the Committee on Social Thought, the Divinity School, and the Franke Institute for the Humanities.

Endowed Lectures

The Gossett Lecture: An Evening with Tony Kushner. April 8, 2010 The Jean and Harold Gossett Memorial Fund in Memory of the Holocaust victims Martha and Paul Feivel Korngold supports activities that highlight artistic expression in modern Jewish culture, with a particular emphasis on issues related to the Holocaust. Previous Lecturers have been Dominick LaCapra (2000), Seth Wolitz (2002), Philip Bohlman (2003), Michael Steinberg (2004), Pierre Joris (2005), Peter Filkins (2006), Daniel Mendelsohn (2007), and Bożena Shallcross (2009).

The June and Harold Patinkin Lecture with Illana Pardes. November 18-19, 2010. The June and Harold Patinkin Lecture supports lectures related to modern Israeli studies, such as the history and establishment of Israel, Israeli government, politics, political parties, and culture. Past lecturers include Shimshon Zelniker (2007) and Matti Bunzl (2006).

The Sarah (Bunny) and Leo Horvitz Memorial Lecture in Jewish Studies with Meir Shalev. March 3-4, 2011. The Sarah (Bunny) and Leo Horvitz Memorial Lecture in Jewish Studies supports lectures in the field of Jewish Studies and alternates yearly with the Gossett Lecture. The Horvitz Lecturer for 2008-9 was Saul Friedlander.

Lectures

Lecture Series 2009-10

Creation: Genesis and Other Beginnings in Jewish History and Culture. Three symposia with short lectures by Chicago faculty.  Funded by the Harriet and Ulrich Meyer Fund. Lectures included:

  • David Schloen (NELC), “The Creation of Ancient Israel,” November 2, 2009.
  • Orit Bashkin (NELC), “The Creation of the Arab-Jew,” November 2, 2009.
  • James Robinson (Divinity), “The Creation of Hebrew Belles Lettres in Medieval ‘Provence’,” February 15, 2010.
  • Paul Mendes-Flohr (Divinity), “The Creation of Modern Jewish Studies,” February 15, 2010.
  • Jan Schwarz (Germanic Studies), “Conjugal Fruit: A Shakespearean Sonnet in Yiddish,” February 15, 2010.
  • Simeon Chavel (Divinity), “The Creation of Torah: Law and Narrative in Israelite Historiography,” April 28, 2010.
  • Martha Nussbaum (Law), “The Creation of Woman,” April 28, 2010.
  • Leora Auslander (History), “Conundrums of Jewish Life in Postwar Europe,” April 28, 2010.

Modern Jewish and Israeli History. A series of nine lectures organized by Bernard Wasserstein (History) and Orit Bashkin (NELC).  Funded by the Harriet and Ulrich Meyer Fund.  Co-sponsored with the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the Department of History. Lectures included:

  • Roberto Mazza, “Renegotiating Identity: The Nebi Musa Riots of Jerusalem, April 1920,” January 19, 2010.
  • Alan Dowty, “The Origins of the Arab-Israel Conflict: Arab-Jewish Relations in the First Aliyah, 1881-1905,” January 26, 2010.
  • Avshalom Rubin, “’Technology and Geography:’ The Evolving Role of the West Bank in Israeli Strategic Thinking, 1949-1967,” February 9, 2010.
  • Orit Bashkin, “Red Baghdad: Iraqi Jews and the Iraqi Communist Party,” February 23, 2010.
  • S.Z. Berger, “Yiddish Bibles in Amsterdam,” March 2, 2010.
  • Orit Rozin, “Exit, Voice and Citizens: Negotiating the Right to Travel Abroad in 1950s Israel,” March 4, 2010.
  • Ralph Austen, “Jews, Crypto-Jews and Late Medieval/Early Modern African Trades:  Saharan and Atlantic,” April 20, 2010.
  • Elie Rekhess, “Arabs in a Jewish State – Dilemmas of National Identity,” May 12, 2010.
  • Derek Penslar, “When May We Kill Our Brethren?  Jews at War in the Long Nineteenth Century,” May 24, 2010.

Crypto-Jews in Iberia, South America, and the American Southwest. A series of three lectures.  Funded by the Harriet and Ulrich Meyer Fund. Co-sponsored with the Center for Latin American Studies, the Center for the Study of Race, Culture, and Politics, and the Katz Center for Mexican Studies. Lectures included:

  • Stanley Hordes, “The Sephardic Legacy in New Mexico: A History of the Crypto-Jews,” March 11, 2010.
  • David Gitlitz, “Syncretism and Assimilation: The Secret Jews of Spain,” April 19, 2010.
  • María Elena Martínez, “‘Limpieza de Sangre’ in Old and New Spain,” April 27, 2010.

Political Theory. Legal Theory. Classical Jewish Texts. A series of three lectures organized by Simi Chavel (Divinity).  Funded by the Harriet and Ulrich Meyer Fund.  Co-sponsored with the Divinity School.

  • Steven Grosby, “Political Anthropology and the Bible: Goy and Ezrach,” February 10, 2010.
  • Moshe Halbertal, “At the Threshold of Forgiveness: Law and Narrative in the Talmud,” February 17, 2010.
  • Suzanne Stone, “Between Truth and Trust: The Prophet as Self-Deceiver,” February 24, 2010.

Individual Lectures 2009-10

November 3, 2009. Attina Grossman. Primary Sponsor: Modern European History Workshop

January 10, 2010. Margaret Olin, “Jewish Space.” Primary Sponsor: The Renaissance Society

January 24, 2010. Jan Schwarz, “Porfolk: Portraits of Married Couples in Yiddish Literature.” Primary Sponsor: The Renaissance Society

January 28, 2010. Ari Barbalat, “State Personhood in Rabbinic Judaism: Lessons for International Ethics.” Primary Sponsor: CMES

February 5, 2010. Victor Kattan, “Why History Matters: International Law and the Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict.” Primary Sponsor: CMES

February 7, 2010. Leora Auslander, Sexy Challahs, Pregnant Shabbat Candlesticks, and Women with Sidelocks: Anna Shteynshleyger’s Embodied Judaism.” Primary Sponsor: The Renaissance Society

February 9, 2010. David Nirenberg, “Shakespeare’s Jewish Questions.” Primary Sponsor: Lumen Christi Institute

February 14, 2010. Charles Bernstein, “Reading on Jewish Identity and Imagery.” Primary Sponsor: The Renaissance Society

February 18, 2010. Moshe Halbertal, “The Moral Challenges of Asymmetrical War: The Case of Israel.

April 13, 2010. Guy Stroumsa, “Docetism: Jewish and Greek Roots.” Primary Sponsor: Center for the Study of Ancient Religion

April 15, 2010. Guy Stroumsa, “Teaching the Abrahamic Religions: a Subversive Enterprize.” Primary Sponsor: Center for the Study of Ancient Religions

May 5, 2010. Ruth Gavison, “Constitution-Making as a Form of Nation Building – The Israeli Experience.” Primary Sponsor: Jewish Law Students Association

May 6, 2010. Tom Sizgorich, “Ka‘b an ‘Umar Go to Jerusalem: A Jewish Ghost in the Abode of Islam.” Primary Sponsor: Center for the Study of Ancient Religions

May 17, 2010. Adam Lipszyc, “Schulz avec Benjamin: The Mythical versus the Messianic.” Primary Sponsor: Slavic Department

Lectures 2010-11

Esther Dischereit. “Before the High Holy Days, the House was Full of Whisperings and Rustlings.” A lecture and workshop on October 7 and 8, 2010, respectively. Funded by the Harriet and Ulrich Meyer Fund. Co-sponsored by the Germanics Department and the Newberger Hillel Center.

Modern Jewish and Israeli History. Six lectures funded by the Harriet and Ulrich Meyer Fund and the Aronberg Fund. This series was organized by Leora Auslander (History) and Orit Bashkin (NELC). Co-sponsored with the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Department of History, and the France Chicago Center.

  • Lisa Leff, “The Archive Handler: Zosa Szajkowski and the Salvaging of French Jewish History,” November 4, 2010.
  • Daniel Tsadik, “Shi’ite-Jewish Relations in the Late 19th to the Early 20th Century Iran,” November 17, 2010.
  • Julia Phillips Cohen, “Sephardi Jews & Imperial Belonging in the Late Ottoman Empire,” January 5, 2011.
  • Lisa Silverman, “A Modern Passion Play: Philipp Halsmann on Trial in Interwar Austria,” February 23, 2011.
  • Matthias Lehmann, “Philanthropic Networks and the Jews of Palestine in the Eighteenth Century: the Making of a Modern Jewish Diaspora,” April 14, 2011.
  • Paul Lerner, “In Search of Cosmopolitan Consumption:  Jews, Department Stores and Modern Mass Consumption in Germany,” May 19, 2011.

Jewish Communities of the Second Temple Period. Four lectures by funded by the Harriet and Ulrich Meyer Fund and the Aronberg Fund. This series was organized by Simi Chavel (Divinity) and Jeff Stackert (Divinity). Co-sponsored with the Divinity School.

  • Jonathan Ben-Dov, “Jewish Calendars and Sects in the Hellenistic Period,” October 4, 2010.
  • Sandra Gambetti, “The Jews in Hellenistic and Roman Egypt: A case apart?” October 25, 2010.
  • Alejandro Botta, “Markers of Identity in the Jewish Colony of Elephantine,” February 1, 2011.
  • Steven Weitzman, “The Samaritans and other Troublesome Doubles from Jewish Antiquity,” February 28, 2011.

Aron Rodrigue. “The First Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Memoir: Sa’adi Halevi and Ottoman Jewish Salonica in the 19th Century.”  May 16, 2011.  Funded by the Harriet and Ulrich Meyer Fund.  Co-sponsored with the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture.