Event Archive 2016 - Present

In 1892, G. J. Chester presented the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford) with a statuette allegedly from San el-Hagar, Egypt. The statuette was first published seventy years later by P. R. S. Moorey (1965 [Iraq 27]), who identified the figure as the infamous Mesopotamian demon Pazuzu. In addition to his striking iconographic attributes, the winged demon bears on his legs a four-line Phoenician or Aramaic inscription from Iron I or IIA. Since the original and only prior publication of this inscription (G. R. Driver 1965 [Iraq 27]) was acknowledged by its author to be very preliminary -- owing mainly to corrosion on the statue's surface. At this meeting of the Hebrew Bible Workshop, Divinity students Jessie DeGrado and Matt Richey will present preliminary results from their new study based on personal inspection of the statue and new imaging techniques, and offer some general comments on what this statue and its inscription reveal about the penetration of Mesopotamian demonology into the West. Light refreshments will follow. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to email the workshop’s co-coordinators: Sun Bok Bae (sunbok@uchicago.edu) or Marshall Cunningham (MCunningham1@uchicago.edu).

Shachar Pinsker, Professor of Hebrew Literature and Culture, University of Michigan, will deliver a lecture for the Jewish Studies Workshop. Reception sponsored by the Chicago Center for Jewish Studies (CCJS). For information, contact the coordinators, Anna Band (aband@uchicago.edu) and David Cohen (davidc1@uchicago.edu).

The Yiddish Tish will be meeting every Thursday of Autumn Quarter at 3pm in Cobb 500. Yiddish and aspiring Yiddish speakers of all levels are welcome to come enjoy coffee and cookies together. Cheat sheets with vocab/ phrases will be provided! For more information, email Matt Johnson (mjohnson26@uchicago.edu). The Yiddish Tish is also committed to having a fully accessible workshop. For any questions or concerns about accessibility, please contact Ingrid Sagor at isagor@uchicago.edu.

This evening’s events celebrate the newest film, Francofonia, by Alexander Sokurov. Dragan Kujundžić (University of Florida) will provide context and an introduction and present his filmed interview, entitled Cinemuse: Selfie with Sokurov. The evening will culminate with a screening of Francofonia. FRANCOFONIA is the story of two remarkable men, Louvre director Jacques Jaujard and Nazi Occupation officer Count Franziskus Wolff-Metternich - enemies then collaborators - whose alliance would be the driving force behind the preservation of museum treasures. Francofonia explores the relationship between art and power, the Louvre museum as a living example of civilization, and what art tells us about ourselves even in the midst of one of the bloodiest conflicts the world has ever seen. Schedule: 4:30 pm Introduction by Dragan Kujundžić (University of Florida) 5:00 pm Cinemuse: Selfie With Sokurov (screening) 6:00 pm Francofonia (screening) Sponsored by The Franke Institute for the Humanities, CEERES and the Departments of Cinema and Media Studies and Comparative Literature. Persons with disabilities should contact CEERES in advance of the program at 773-702-0866 or ceeres@uchicago.edu.