By Dahlia Moore

ISBN 978-1-934843-84-0 (Cloth $59.00 / £40.25)

250 pages

Academic Studies Press, February, 2012

In Two Steps Forward, One Step Back, Dahlia Moore explores the social and cultural forces at play in Israeli society and their effects on the changing status of women.  While delving into some of Israel’s unique and influential forces, such as the army, religious sects, and recent immigration, Moore also broadens her perspective, juxtaposing the status of Israeli women with that of women in other Western societies.  An excellent resource for scholars of gender and gender attitudes looking beyond North America and Europe.

By Raphael Shuchat

ISBN 978-1-936235-68-1 (Cloth $69.00 / £47.00)

250 pages

Academic Studies Press, January, 2012

Ever since the first encounter between Judaism and the western world in the second century BCE, Jewish thinkers like Maimonides, Gersonides, R. Moses Hayyim Luzzatto, and Rabbi A. I. Kook have grappled with the issues of Jewish faith and modernity. The works they published, which comprise Jewish classical philosophy, were products of the highest intellectual caliber, and no question of faith, no matter how embarrassing or heretical, was overlooked. In this book Raphael Shuchat presents the reader with some of the main and timeless issues of Jewish philosophy over the ages and updates them to twenty-first century thinking.

By Diego Lucci and Paolo Bernardini

ISBN 978-1-936235-74-2 (Cloth $69.00 / £47.00)

220 pages

Academic Studies Press, December, 2011

This book examines the four most important projects for Jewish emancipation in eighteenth-century Europe. The essays presented in this volume analyze the proposal advanced by the freethinker John Toland in 1714 and three projects of the 1780s, formulated by the state official Christian Wilhelm von Dohm in Frederick the Great’s Prussia, the economist Count D’Arco in Mantua under Habsburg rule, and the Abbe Henri Gregoire in France on the eve of the Revolution…this book is a particularly useful resource for scholars and students interested in the history of Jewish-Gentile relations and the Age of Enlightenment.

European Yiddish Academic Workshop: Yiddish Culture in its European Context

Lund University, October 28-30, 2012

The chair of Yiddish at Lund University, Sweden, in corporation with the chairs of Yiddish at the Heinrich-Heine University of Düsseldorf and the University of Amsterdam, are pleased to announce the convening of the first European Yiddish Academic Workshop. This annual meeting will assemble senior and junior European researchers in the field of Yiddish from its earliest appearance in Europe to date.

Scholars of Yiddish of all ranks (including Ph.D. students) are invited to submit a proposal for a presentation in this workshop. The topics to be discussed this year are: 1. Yiddish Culture after 1945; 2. European Centers of Yiddish Culture in the 20^th Century. The lectures may cover topics related to questions of language, literature, history, folklore or any other relevant academic field. Length of a presentation is 20 minutes followed by a 15 minutes discussion.

Senior participants will be asked to finance their own cost of travel, while the organizers will cover the costs of hotel and meals during the meeting. The organizers will pay for travel expenses for junior scholars including Ph.D. students.

Deadline for submitting a proposal for a lecture is May 15, 2012 and proposals of no more than 400 words should be sent to Jan.Schwarz@sol.lu.se.

The Hebrew Book in the Western Mediterranean: 13th to 16th Centuries

Madrid, 5-6 March 2012

Hebrew book production (including material making, book transmission and text circulation) was at the core of Jewish cultural history during the Middle Ages and Early Modernity. This conference will investigate issues in the patronage, production, circulation and consumption of Hebrew books in the Western Mediterranean during the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Times (13th to 16th Centuries).

How did reading practices affect on the material making of codices and, later on, of printed books? To what extend did the demands of patronage foster or constrain areas of intellectual and artistic engagement? What role did voluntary or forced mobility play in book circulation and library building? In what ways did the printed book have an effect on manuscript production and text transmission in late 15th and early 16th centuries?

The interest of this conference is twofold: the material production of books in interacting contexts and the role of owners and readers in both book circulation and text transmission. In exploring these questions, the participants will address the adoption of book-making techniques across cultural boundaries, the effect of mobility in book production and work selection in Italy and Northern Africa, the impact of printing in book acquisition, and the interest in buying, reading, or collecting Hebrew books in 15th century Iberia and beyond.

ORGANIZER: Javier del Barco

javier.delbarco@csic.es

For more information, go to the conference website: http://www.congresos.cchs.csic.es/hebrewbook/

Public Lectures

Public lecture

Tuesday 6th March 2012 at 20h00

‘De bronnen van de Antwerpse Polyglotbijbel: joodse geleerdheid voor een katholieke koning’

Theodor Dunkelgrün in dialogue with Dr. Piet van Boxel (Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies)

Lecture in Dutch.

Hof van Liere, Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerp

Attendance is free of charge – registration required ijs@ua.ac.be or T +32 3 265 52 43.

Guest lectures

29th February 2012 from 14h00 until 16h00, room R.013

Prof. dr. Joachim Leilich (in the course Judaism and Philosophy)

‘Baruch Spinoza: the last of the Medievals’

14th March 2012 from 14h00 until 16h00, room R.013

Prof. dr. Joachim Leilich (in the course Judaism and Philosophy)

‘Benedictus Spinoza: the first of the Moderns’

19th March 2012 from 16h00 until 18h00, room R.005

Prof. dr. Karin Hofmeester (in the course Introduction to Jewish Culture)

‘Van Nieuwe Christenen naar Nieuwe Joden: Iberische Conversos in de Gouden Eeuwen van Antwerpen en Amsterdam’

These guest lectures can be followed by anybody interested in the subjects

For more information and registration, please contact the Institute of Jewish Studies

(ijs@ua.ac.be or T +32 3 265 52 43)

14-15 March 2012

Universiteit Antwerpen

Hof van Liere (Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerpen)

This conference explores the literary dimension of ancient Jewish texts, gathering scholars from different academic fields (rabbinic studies, biblical studies, literary studies, and philosophy) and drawing on different methodologies (literary criticism, rhetorical criticism, cognitive linguistics, historical criticism, and reception history) in order to establish the state of the art in the field of ancient Jewish text studies. Participants will discuss the relevance, accuracy, potential and possible alternatives to the literary approach developed in the 1980s and predominant ever since in addressing textual features.

Since the breakthrough of the work of comparative literary theorists in biblical studies in the early 80s of the previous century, ancient Jewish texts have been analyzed in terms of aspects regarded as literary in a modern understanding of this term. However, this approach is controversial since it applies a modern framework to ancient texts, assuming that similar features must fulfill similar roles. Moreover, the literary approach was not as eagerly adopted in the study of other ancient Jewish texts, such as piyutim, Dead Sea Scrolls, and early rabbinic writings. The speakers will present and discuss various modes of addressing literary features in a variety of older Jewish texts. These modes will emphasize challenges to the established “modern” literary understanding of these texts and will include a multitude of approaches: a strong theological or liturgical thrust, cognitive or didactic perspectives, as well as hybrid readings in which these features have multiple purposes. To more theoretically oriented research within the field of Jewish studies, it is of particular interest to evaluate the literary dimension of the corpus of ancient texts. Finally, the conference aims at assessing the role and contribution of the various methods to the different fields represented at the conference and to formulate directions for future research.

Confirmed keynote speakers:
Prof. dr. Scott Noegel, University of Washington (United States of America)
Prof. dr. Ellen Van Wolde, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen (Netherlands)
Prof. dr. Wilfred Watson, Newcastle University (United Kingdom)
Prof. dr. Robert Gordon, Cambridge University (United Kingdom)

Go here for Program and Abstracts (pdf)

Go here for more information

Biblioteca Nacional de España

28 February to 13 May 2012

Throughout the Middle Ages, the Hebrew Bible was one of the hubs about which revolved the religious life and cultural production of the Jews of the Iberian Peninsula, known in Hebrew sources as Sepharad. Taking the Bible as a focal point, this exhibition presents a selection of the finest medieval biblical manuscripts together with works ancillary to their study, or related to it. The history of the manuscripts shown here is fascinating. Read by Sephardic Jews and converts after the expulsions from Castile and Aragon (1492), Portugal (1497), and Navarre (1498), some were hidden, others censored and seized by the Inquisition, and many treasured by Christian Hebraists; and most of them were victims of the same exile as their owners. In various different ways, all of them later came into public or private collections in Spain. In the different sections visitors can see the way in which the lives of the books are interwoven with those of their copyists, illuminators, readers, owners and collectors. The manuscripts and objects on display, most of which are exhibited for the first time, provide the visitor with an opportunity to learn about a key chapter in the cultural history of Spain.

For further information visit http://www.bne.es/es/AreaPrensa/noticias2012/BibliasSefarad.html

University of Leicester – Historical Studies

Applications are invited for a lectureship in modern history in the School of Historical Studies in either modern European OR American History.

Modern European History

We welcome applications in the field of modern European history that would complement the work of the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (SBC) and are particularly interested in attracting candidates with a specialism in Central or East European History who work on the history of war, violence and the Holocaust in comparative European perspective.

American History

We welcome applications in any field of the modern history of North America that would complement the work of the Centre for American Studies (CAS) and are particularly interested in attracting candidates with a specialism in the fields of Economic, Hispanic or Native American History.

Applicants should have a doctorate and a strong record of publication, should be able to demonstrate potential to develop as internationally regarded researchers and teachers in their chosen field, and be able to show that they possess the attributes required to exercise research leadership.

Informal enquiries are welcome and should be made to Professor Roey Sweet on rhs4@le.ac.uk or 0116 252 2592 or 0116 252 2837.

We use a web based, e-recruitment system, which allows you to apply on-line. Please upload a copy of your CV and a covering letter including the names and addresses of three referees. One of your referees should be your current or most recent employer.

The closing date for this post is midnight on Friday 9 March 2012.

We anticipate that interviews will take place on Thursday 22 March 2012.

Click here for Employer Profile

Click here to Apply Online

The Leo Baeck Institute in conjunction with the School of History, Queen Mary, University of London is offering two bursaries tenable for the academic year 2012-2013 for students taking the Leo Baeck Institute MA in European Jewish History. The bursary will cover the fee at the Home/EU rate (the rate for 2012-13 is £5,500). Candidates should normally have attained or expect to attain a first class degree or equivalent in history or a related humanities subject.

The Programme

The Leo Baeck Institute MA trains scholars towards undertaking independent research on Jewish history, culture and thought in Europe. It provides a strong grounding in approaches and theories which have influenced the ways in which scholars understand Jewish history. Simultaneously, the MA introduces students to a wide range of sources available for European Jewish studies. Particular attention will be paid to the Jewish response to modernity and problems around the definition and issues of assimilation and identity. The role of antisemitism and the origins of the Holocaust are central, as is Jewish intellectual history, focusing on the ideas of eminent Jewish thinkers about the place of Jews and Judaism in pre-modern and modern society.

The MA consists of the core module, three modules chosen from a series of options and an individually supervised dissertation. Students will also take a non-assessed research methods course. Part-time students take the core module and one option in the first year, and two options and dissertation in the second year.

Optional modules may include:

• Modern Jewish History and Culture • Christians and Jews in Europe: Perceptions and Encounters, 1100-1600• Jews, Power and Intellectual History • Antisemitism and the Holocaust • Modern European Jewish Literature • Hollywood and the Second World War • Understanding Religion Historically • Overcoming Nazism

General Entry Requirements

An upper second class honours undergraduate degree or higher in History (or overseas equivalent). Mature students from other academic backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Please visit http://www.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply/index.html to download an application form.

Please ensure you submit a statement of purpose as requested on the application form. This should be 500 – 750 words in length. Please address the following:

• Why do you want to study the Leo Baeck Institute MA in European Jewish History programme at Queen Mary?
• How do you think the MA will assist you in your future ambitions?
• Please identify any relevant experience which has prepared you for this programme.

Deadline for receipt of applications for bursaries: 16 April 2012

2012/13 Home/EU Fee:                                                        £5,500

2012/13 Overseas Fee:                                                         £12,000

Further information links:

http://www.history.qmul.ac.uk

http://jewishstudies.history.qmul.ac.uk

http://www.leobaeck.co.uk

Contact:

Jon Clifford

Admissions Administrator

j.clifford@qmul.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8370