A. Endowed Lectures
1. The Leo and Sarah (Bunny) Horvitz Memorial Lectures.
November 20, 2014. Zeruya Shalev. Award-winning Israeli author Zeruya Shalev delivered the first of the 2014-15 Horvitz Memorial Lectures entitled “Ancient Jewish Sources and Modern Love.” The lecture was attended by approximately 50 people. A public reception and a dinner of invited guests followed.
January 21, 2015. Dara Horn. American Jewish author and the Gerald Weinstock Visiting Professor in Jewish Studies at Harvard University, Dara Horn, presented the second in the series of Horvitz Memorial Lectures. The lecture was entitled, “On Being an American Jewish Writer. The lecture was attended by approximately 20 people. A public reception and dinner of invited guests followed. (Dr. Horn also gave a student workshop. Details below.)
March 2, 2015. Adam Kirsch. American poet, literary critic, and senior editor for “The New Republic,” Adam Kirsch, delivered the third in the series of Horvitz Memorial Lectures. The lecture was entitled,” Is There Such a Thing as Jewish Literature?” and was attended by approximately 40 people. A public reception and dinner of invited guests followed. (Mr. Kirsch also gave a student workshop. Details below.)
April 30, 2015. Assaf Gavron. Israeli author and novelist, Assaf Gavron, delivered the final Horvitz Memorial Lecture for the year. The lecture was based on his most recent book, The Hilltop: A Novel, winner of the prestigious Bernstein Prize. The lecture was attended by approximately 15 people. A public reception followed.
2. The Joyce Z. Greenberg Visiting Professorship Lectures
February 17, 2015. Isaiah Gafni. The winter Greenberg Lecture was given by Isaiah Gafni, the Sol Rosenbloom Professor Emeritus of Jewish History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was entitled, “From Temple to Text: Rabbinic Judaism as Default or Destiny.” The lecture was attended by approximately 50 people. A public dinner followed. Mrs. Greenberg was in attendance.
May 28, 2015. Dan Diner. The spring Greenberg Lecture was given by Dan Diner, Professor of Modern History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and inaugural Greenberg Visiting Professor (Spring 2014). The lecture was entitled, “Conspicuous Entanglements: Reappraising World War II in History’s Memory” and was attended by approximately 25 people. A public reception and dinner of invited guests followed. Mrs. Greenberg was in attendance.
3. The June and Harold Patinkin Visiting Professorship in Modern Israel Studies Lecture
April 22, 2015. Raphael Greenberg. The Patinkin lecture was delivered by Raphael Greenberg, Associate Professor in the Department of Archaeology and Near Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University. The lecture was entitled, “The Future of Archaeology in Israel/Palestine” and was attended by approximately 25 people. A public reception and dinner of invited guests followed.
B. Conferences
October 5–6, 2014. “The Cultural Politics of German-Jewish Hermeneutics, 1750–1950.” This conference/workshop analyzed 18th–20th Century reading practices, including the interpretation and translation of biblical commentary, philosophy, and literary texts, to examine the cultural and political ramifications of various notions of ‘religious’ and ‘secular’ hermeneutics. The workshop was co-sponsored by the Chicago Center for Jewish Studies, the Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion, the Divinity School, the Franke Institute for the Humanities, and the Norman Wait Harris Memorial Foundation.
April 8–9, 2015. “Levinas Reading.” The impetus for this conference arose from the recent publication of the first three volumes of Emmanuel Levinas’ Oeuvres complètes. The conference was organized by Sarah Hammerschlag, Assistant Professor of Religion and Literature in the Divinity School, and Raoul Moati, Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy. Speakers also included Bettina Bergo (Université de Montreal), Rodolph Calin (Université de Paul Valery), Ryan Coyne (University of Chicago), Oona Eisenstadt (Pomona College), Michael Fishbane (University of Chicago), Sean Hand (University of Warwick), Martin Kavka (Florida State University), Jean-Luc Marion (University of Chicago), Françoise Meltzer (University of Chicago), Michael Morgan (Indiana University), and Adriaan Peperzak (Loyola University). The event was co-sponsored by the Chicago Center for Jewish Studies, the Divinity School, the Martin Marty Center, the Philosophy Department, the Franke Institute for the Humanities, and the Chicago France Center.
May 12–14, 2015. Conference: “Characterizing Astrology in the Medieval Islamic World.” This conference examined the intersections among science, the occult, and the religious cultures that lived in the medieval Islamic world. It was co-sponsored by the Chicago Center for Jewish Studies, the Center for International Studies Norman Wait Harris Fund, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, the Divinity School, the Divinity Students Association, the Division of the Humanities, the Franke Institute for the Humanities, the Graduate Council, the Humanities Visiting Committee, the Islamic Studies Workshop, the Jewish Studies Workshop, the Martin Marty Center, the Middle East History and Theory Workshop, the Morris Fishbein Center for the History of Science and Medicine, and the Uncommon Fund.
May 14–16, 2015. “People and Things on the Move: Migration and Material Culture.” Two dozen scholars from four continents and five disciplines were brought together for this conference/workshop to explain how the experience of migration changes, and is changed by, the things that people bring with them and those they jettison. Sessions focused on the discussion of pre-circulated papers to allow for both wide-ranging and intense discussion. The conference was presented by People and Things on the Move: Migration and Material Culture, a project of the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society. It was co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies, the Nicholson Center for British Studies, the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, the Center for the Study of Race, Culture and Politics, and the Pozen Family Center for Human Rights.
C. Series, Workshops, and Symposia
October 5 – December 7, 2014. “Schmaltzywood: The Golden Age of Yiddish Cinema in America (1937–1940). In collaboration with Doc Films and with a grant from the Gemunder Family Fund, a series of nine films on loan from the National Center for Jewish Film was presented on Sunday evenings. Admission was free. The program on October 19 included a reading by Leo Melamed, chairman emeritus of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and a former Yiddish actor and radio performer.
January 21, 2015. Student Workshop: “Writing Between Two Worlds.” American Jewish author and the Gerald Weinstock Visiting Professor in Jewish Studies at Harvard University, Dara Horn, presented a workshop for students. Readings under discussion were made available ahead of time. Approximately 10 students and faculty participated. The workshop was held in conjunction with the Leo and Sarah (Bunny) Horvitz Memorial Lecture and was co-sponsored by the Committee on Creative Writing and the Department of Germanic Studies.
March 2, 2015. Student Workshop: “Jews, Language, and Interpretation.” American poet, literary critic, and senior editor for “The New Republic,” Adam Kirsch, presented a student workshop with readings under discussion circulated ahead of time. Lunch was served. Approximately 10 students and faculty participated. The workshop was held in conjunction with the Leo and Sarah (Bunny) Horvitz Memorial Lecture.
April 1 – May 27, 2015. Series: Lectures on Medieval Cairo. A series of five lectures was presented by the Oriental Institute and the Center for Jewish Studies in conjunction with the special exhibit “A Cosmopolitan City: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Old Cairo.” Lecturers included, Paul Walker of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Amy Landau of Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Tasha Vorderstrasse of the Oriental Institute, Marina Rustow of Johns Hopkins University, and Donald Whitcomb of the Oriental Institute.
Jewish Studies Workshop. Primarily sponsored by the Council for Advanced Studies with matching honoraria for up to three speakers/year from the Center for Jewish Studies. Organized by graduate students David Frankel, Emilie Amar-Zifkin and Sarah Zager, with faculty sponsors James Robinson, Paul Mendes-Flohr, and Sunny Yudkoff. Sponsored guest lecturers this year included Eugene Sheppard (Brandeis) and Jay Geller (Vanderbilt).
Hebrew Bible Workshop. Primarily sponsored by the Council for Advanced Studies with matching honoraria for up to three speakers/quarter from the Center for Jewish Studies. Organized by graduate students Liane Marquis and Cathleen Chopra-McGowan, with faculty sponsors Jeffrey Stackert and Simeon Chavel. Sponsored guest lecturers this year included Naphtali Meshel (Princeton) and David Vanderhooft (Boston College).
Hebrew Circle. The Center for Jewish Studies provides funding for meetings of the Hebrew Circle. The group was coordinated by graduate student Liran Yadgar and directed by Ariela Finkelstein.
Yiddish Tish. The Center for Jewish Studies provides funding for a quarterly Yiddish conversation breakfast “Tish.” Organized by Yiddish Lecturer, Sunny Yudkoff.
D. Individual Lectures, Workshops, and Events with CCJS as Primary Sponsor
October 10, 2014. Informal Graduate Student Meet and Greet. Requested last spring by graduate students, the event was organized by History student Ilana MIller and attended by approximately 12 students. Refreshments were provided by the Center for Jewish Studies.
October 24, 2014. Undergraduate Workshop: “Journalism & Judaism.” A lunch and discussion with author, columnist and professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism Samuel G. Freedman was held for undergraduate students. Approximately 15 students attended. The event was co-sponsored by the University of Chicago Careers in Journalism, Arts, and Media.
November 4, 2014. Annual Graduate Student and Faculty Fall Reception and Celebration with MacArthur Fellow Tara Zahra. This annual event, which allows for the interaction of students and faculty members, was attended by approximately 25 people. A buffet dinner was provided.
November 11, 2014. Undergraduate Workshop: “LGBT Rights in Israel: A Success Story?” Alon Harel, the David and Laureine Greenbaum Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago Law School and the Mizock Professor of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem led a discussion with students over lunch. Approximately 15 students attended. Refreshments were provided. The event was co-sponsored by the Law School.
November 21, 2014. Lecture: ” ‘Thank You for Dying for Our Country’: Performing Commemoration at Ammunition Hill (Jerusalem).” Chaim Noy, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, University of South Florida – Tampa, presented a lecture based on his forthcoming book. The lecture was attended by approximately 30 people. A public reception and a dinner with invited students and faculty followed. The lecture was co-sponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.
January 29, 2015. Lecture: “Babel in Zion.” Assistant Professor in the Department of History and the Program in Jewish Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Liora Halperin, spoke on her new book, “Babel in Zion: Jews, Nationalism, and Language Diversity in Palestine 1920–1948.” Co-sponsored by the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.
February 12, 2015. Lecture: “Revisiting the Villa in the Jungle: Encounters with Africa in Israeli Culture.” Dr. Eitan Bar-Yosef, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Foreign Literatures and Linguistics at Ben Gurion University, spoke on his research on the representations of Africans in Israeli culture.
March 12, 2015. Lecture: “The Jews of Bamiyan: A Community of Traders and Scholars in Eleventh-Century Khorasan.” Shaul Shaked, Professor Emeritus in the Institute of Asian and African Studies of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, lectured on the archives of Judeo-Persian documents that have emerged from Afghanistan in recent years, revealing the social life of a medieval Jewish community hitherto almost entirely unknown. Co-sponsored by the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
April 7, 2014. Lecture: “The Jewish Diaspora in China.” Xu Xin, Dean of the Glazer Institute for Jewish and Israel Studies, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Nanjing University, China, spoke on the presence of Jews in China, covering both earlier and more recent periods. The event was co-sponsored by the Jewish Studies Workshop, the Center for East Asian Studies, the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, and the Committee on Chinese Studies.
May 5, 2015. Lecture: “Jewish National Symbols Through a Ukrainian Looking Glass: Dovid Hofshteyn’s Translations of Taras Shevchenko.” Dr. Amelia Glaser, Associate Professor in the Department of Literature at UC San Diego, was the speaker. Lunch was provided. Co-sponsored by the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies.
May 17, 2015. “Ways of Knowing: The Bible in Jewish Thought.” The 2015 Northwestern University/University of Chicago Jewish Studies Havruta featured keynote speaker Prof. Paul Mendes-Flohr from the University of Chicago Divinity School. Sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies.
May 20, 2015. Lecture: “Survivors and Exiles: Yiddish Culture after the Holocaust.” Jan Schwarz, Professor of Yiddish Studies at Lund University, Sweden, presented a lecture based on his new book. Approximately 25 people attended the lecture. A public reception and a dinner with invited guests followed. The event was co-sponsored by the Department of Germanic Studies and the Jewish Studies Workshop.
E. Co-sponsored Events
October 13, 2014. Film: “Before the Revolution: The Untold Story of the Israeli Paradise in Iran.” The screening of this film was followed by a question/answer session with the film’s director. Presented by the Center for Jewish Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, and the University of Chicago Friends of Israel.
October 20, 2014. Lecture: “Ezekiel in Babylon.” Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible at Boston College, David Vanderhooft, presented a paper for the Hebrew Bible Workshop. The lecture was co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies.
October 27, 2014. Lecture: “The Other Grammurs.” Naphtali Meshel, Assistant Professor of Religion and Judaic Studies at Princeton University, presented a paper for the Hebrew Bible Workshop, co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies.
October 27, 2014. Lecture: “The Perils and Joys of Adaptations: From Prose to Stage, from Arabic and Norwegian to Hebrew, and from Palestine and Norway to Modern-Day Israel.” Israeli playwright, journalist, screenwriter, and activist Boaz Gaon, lectured on language and theater as a bridge between cultures, place and time. The lecture was co-sponsored by the Chicago Center for Jewish Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest, and the University of Chicago Newberger Hillel Center.
November 5, 2014. Lecture: “Did Christians, Muslims, and Jews Coexist Peacefully in Medieval Iberia? (And Does It really Matter?)” Eduardo Manzano of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas and Tinker Visiting Professor for the University of Chicago Center for Latin American Studies presented. Approximately 75 people attended. A public reception followed. The event was co-sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies.
November 12, 2014. Lecture: “German and German Jewish Understandings of Persecution, Providence, and Messianic Vengeance: 1933-1938.” Dr. Eugene Sheppard, Professor of Modern Jewish History and Thought at Brandeis University, presented a paper for the Jewish Studies Workshop, co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies.
November 14, 2014. Lecture: “Mediators or Collaborators? Local Jews, Ashkenazi Jews and Arabs in Mandatory Palestine.” Professor Abigail Jacobson of MIT spoke on her studies of the social and urban history of mixed urban communities in Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean in the late Ottoman period and the British mandate. The lecture was part of the Friday afternoon lecture series for the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.
January 13, 2015. Performance: “The Sarajevo Haggadah: Music of the Book. Composed by Bosnian-born, Los Angeles-based accordionist Merima Kljuco, this multimedia work traces the highly dramatic story of one of the world’s most famous manuscripts from medieval Spain to 20th century Bosnia, where it was hidden and rescued during World War II by Muslims, to the National Museum in Sarajevo where it was restored after the 1992–1995 war. A pre-concert discussion was led by Dalia Kandiyoti of City University of New York and Amila Buturovic of York University in Canada. The performance was followed by an informal discussion with the artists, moderated by Shulamit Ran and Philip Bohlman from the Department of Music. The event was co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies with funds from the Beznos Family, the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Department of Music, and the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts.
February 9, 2015. Lecture: “A Field Guide to the Bestiarium Judaicum.” Dr. Jay Geller, Associate Professor of Modern Jewish Culture at Vanderbilt Divinity School, lectured for the Animal Studies Workshop. Co-sponsored by the Chicago Center for Jewish Studies and the Jewish Studies Workshop.
February 21, 2015. Performance: “Passage to Poland: Cabaret Poetics at Modernity’s Crossroads.” As part of the events accompanying the Chicago performances during February and March 2014 of The Passenger and The Property, both operas with Jewish subject matter, the New Budapest Orpheum Society performed in the Performance Penthouse of the University’s Logan Center. The program, including commentary by artistic director, Prof. Philip Bohlman, brought to life cabaret and film music from the Yiddish and Polish traditions of the 20th century and premiered some new repertory and arrangements, not only Yiddish cabaret from the Cracow ghetto but also Polish-language cabaret from pre-Holocaust Lvov and post-Holocaust Warsaw. Co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies with funds from the Beznos Family.
February 24, 2015. Discussion: “A Replacement Life.” The Seminary Co-op Bookstore presented Boris Fishman, author of A Replacement Life, in conversation with Jon Baskin, founding editor of The Point. The event was co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies and the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies.
March 4, 2015. Performance: “The Passenger.” In conjunction with the UChicago Arts Pass, the Chicago Center for Jewish Studies sponsored the performance of “The Passenger” at the Lyric Opera and made available tickets, transportation and a post-performance discussion with UC faculty and Lyric artistic staff members to students and faculty free of charge. Provided by funds from the Beznos Family.
March 11, 2015. Lecture: “The Dead Sea Scrolls and Judaism Today.” James Kugel, Director of the Institute for the History of the Jewish Bible at Bar Ilan University and Starr Professor Emeritus of Hebrew Literature at Harvard University, presented the 2015 Jerald Brauer Lecture in conjunction with the Brauer Seminar, “Jewish and Christian Responses to Biblical Criticism,” taught by Divinity School professors Paul Mendes-Flohr and Jeffrey Stackert. Co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies.
March 24, 2015. Lecture: “Role of Chaplains in Providing Care to Palliative Care Patients with Advanced Cancer.” Chaplain Allison Kestenbaum of the Jewish Theological Seminary presented her findings as part of the Program on Medicine and Religion, co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies.
April 8, 2015. Diplomatic Encounters Lecture. Consul General Roey Gilad of the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest spoke at the Diplomatic Encounters Lecture Series. The event was co-sponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Center for Jewish Studies, the Newberger Hillel Center, and the International House Global Voices Program.
April 13, 2015. Retirement Events in Honor of Shulamit Ran. The University of Chicago presented a day of events to honor Shulamit Ran, the Andrew MacLeish Distinguished Service Professor of Music and Artistic Director, Contempo, on her retirement. The day included a public screening of “Inside New Music: The University of Chicago’s Contempo Celebrates Fifty Years,” with a panel discussion, a reception in the Performance Penthouse, and concluding with a short concert celebrating the music of Shulamit Ran, featuring eighth blackbird, Pacifica Quarter, and University Motet Choir. The event was co-sponsored by the Chicago Center for Jewish Studies with funds from the Beznos Family, the Arts Council, the Department of Music, the Division of the Humanities, the Office of the President, and University of Chicago Presents.
May 9, 2015. Discussion: “The Mathematician’s Shiva.” American writer, musician, and former Duke University geophysics professor Stuart Rojstaczer discussed his new novel with Paul Green, Director of the Institute for Politics and Arthur Rubloff Professor of Policy Studies at Roosevelt University. The event was co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies.
May 18, 2015. Lecture: “Shame, Subjectivity, and Sex with Animals in Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 55a-b.” Beth Berkowitz, Ingeborg Rennert Associate Professor of Jewish Studies in the Department of Religion at Barnard College, explored the question, “What happens when we include other species in our understanding of subjectivity?” The lecture was sponsored by the Animal Studies Workshop in collaboration with the Jewish Studies Workshop and the Chicago Center for Jewish Studies.