Past Events 2015-2016
“The Foreign Mother Tongue: Writing between Arabic and Hebrew in Israel/Palestine,” 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, andSecond Person Singular (all published in English by Grove Atlantic).Kashuaiswinner of the prestigious Berstein Prize. He is the writer and creator of the hit Israeli TV show “Arab Labor,” now in its fourth season. In 2004, Kashua was awarded the Prime Minister’s Prize in Literature. His novelDancing Arabshas 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 newspaperᲹ’aٳ.
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,” Public Lecture with Jonathan Brent
's talk “The Broken World of Isaac Babel” discussed Babel’s stories,particularly in his masterpiece Red Cavalry, from the perspective ofBabel’s interest in developing a meta-narrative of Russian-Jewishidentity. Brent discussed some of the structural, thematic, and linguisticelements in Babel’s stories that demonstrate his continued effort toreconcile these two worlds, which would enable him to envision both apersonal and collective future.
“Race and the Terrain of Liberalism in Intensive Jewish Summer Camps in the 1960s and 1970s,” 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. Thesymposiumfeatured 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 amini-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 Cultureat the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley,arguedthat the usualreading of Sholem Aleichem's Tevye stories and themusical Fiddler on the Roof—as astaging of the triumph of modern romance over traditionalmarriage—fails to take account of Tevye's dream,which demonstrates the haunting of Jewish modernityby the remembered and invented traditional past.
Seidman’s visit celebrates the Sondra and Howard BenderVisiting Scholars Endowed Fund, honoring the lives ofHoward and Sondra Bender, who cherished Jewish culture,celebrated education, and lived life to the fullest. Thank youto the Bender Foundation and the family of Eileen andRichard Greenberg for their generous support! .