Past Events 2015-2016
鈥淭he Foreign Mother Tongue: Writing between Arabic and Hebrew in Israel/Palestine,鈥 Public Lecture with Sayed Kashua
Sayed Kashua is a Palestinian citizen of Israel, author, and journalist born in Tira, Israel, known for his books and humorous columns in Hebrew. Kashua is the author of three novels: Dancing Arabs, Let it Be Morning, and Second Person Singular (all published in English by Grove Atlantic). Kashua is winner of the prestigious Berstein Prize. He is the writer and creator of the hit Israeli TV show 鈥淎rab Labor,鈥 now in its fourth season. In 2004, Kashua was awarded the Prime Minister鈥檚 Prize in Literature. His novel Dancing Arabs has been made into a feature film, and premiered in 2014 at the Telluride Film Festival. Kashua also writers a satirical weekly column in Hebrew for the Israeli newspaper 贬补鈥檃谤别迟锄.
In this public lecture, Kashua addresses the problems faced by Arabs in Israel, caught between two worlds. He spoke about living in Israel with a dual identity, speaking and writing in the language of the majority, while identifying with the Arab Palestinian minority. Through speaking about his experience, challenges, and fears, Kashua draws a picture of life in modern Israel today.
"The Broken World of Isaac Babel,鈥 Public Lecture with Jonathan Brent
's talk 鈥淭he Broken World of Isaac Babel鈥 discussed Babel鈥檚 stories, particularly in his masterpiece Red Cavalry, from the perspective of Babel鈥檚 interest in developing a meta-narrative of Russian-Jewish identity. Brent discussed some of the structural, thematic, and linguistic elements in Babel鈥檚 stories that demonstrate his continued effort to reconcile these two worlds, which would enable him to envision both a personal and collective future.
鈥淩ace and the Terrain of Liberalism in Intensive Jewish Summer Camps in the 1960s and 1970s,鈥 Riv-Ellen Prell
"Freedom Seder: American Judaism and Social Justice" Second biannual Embodied Judaism Symposium and Exhibit
Symposium: Thursday, November 12, 2016
In April 1969, on the first anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Jewish and African-American activists came together in Washington, D.C. to share a meal in solidarity, an event which came to be known as the Freedom Seder. Based on a text written by Rabbi Arthur Waskow, this event would exert a long-lasting influence on American life, generating considerable controversy while also sparking new forms of political activism and religious practice across the ideological spectrum. The content, context, and legacy of this event formed the focus of this year's Embodied Judaism symposium. The symposium featured leading scholars and practitioners from across North America. Each presented on a different aspect of the Freedom Seder and its legacy and then lead the audience in an embodied experience. Read More.
Mini-Conference on Jews and Jewishness in Britain
In the year 1290, King Edward I expelled all Jews from England, and in 1657, Oliver Cromwell let them back in. What impact did Jews have on British politics, culture, and religion in the years that followed? The Program in Jewish Studies, the , and cosponsors held a mini-conference, Jews and Jewishness in Britain, with , , and , to discuss these and other issues.
"Tevye's Dream, Or How Traditional Marriage Haunts Modern Romance," Public Lecture with Naomi Seidman
In this public lecture, , Koret Professor of Jewish Culture at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, argued that the usual reading of Sholem Aleichem's Tevye stories and the musical Fiddler on the Roof鈥as a staging of the triumph of modern romance over traditional marriage鈥攆ails to take account of Tevye's dream, which demonstrates the haunting of Jewish modernity by the remembered and invented traditional past.
Seidman鈥檚 visit celebrates the Sondra and Howard Bender Visiting Scholars Endowed Fund, honoring the lives of Howard and Sondra Bender, who cherished Jewish culture, celebrated education, and lived life to the fullest. Thank you to the Bender Foundation and the family of Eileen and Richard Greenberg for their generous support! .