Conferences

1... University of Sheffield (29 May - 1 June 2008)
2... Parkes Institute, University of Southampton (15-16 July 2008)
3... BAJS ANNUAL CONFERENCE, Manchester (20-22 July 2008)
4... MANCHESTER JUDAICAFEST 2008, Manchester (20-25 July 2008)
5... Centre for the Study of Jewish-Christian Relations, Cambridge (7-9 Sept 2008)

University of Sheffield 2008 Conference on Bible and Justice (29 May - 1 June 2008)

The 2008 Conference on Bible and Justice will bring together scholars from around the world to explore how the ancient texts of the Bible (both Hebrew and Greek) can play an active role in addressing twenty-first century social concerns. The purpose of the conference is to foster discussion about the relevance of the Bible to modern social issues, and promote bridges between the academic field of biblical studies and the various endeavours for a just world. The conference will be divided into three main categories: Human rights, Economic justice, Environmental justice. Our keynote speakers will be: Stanley Hauerwas, Timothy Gorringe, John Rogerson. Registration is now open, and abstracts will be accepted until 24 January. For more complete details, please visit our website at: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/bibs/bibleandjustice

Parkes Institute, University of Southampton (15-16 July 2008)

Call for Papers: 'Whatever Happened to British Jewish Studies?'

Parkes Institute conference, School of Humanities, University of Southampton  (15-16 July 2008): In the late 1970s and 1980s a new generation of scholars of British Jewry emerged coming from a range of disciplines, primarily history, English literature and cultural studies. Some pursued higher degrees and went into academic careers and others went into various aspects of the heritage industry. To mark this energy and a new critical, more inclusive approach to British Jewish studies, a new journal, Jewish Culture and History was launched in 1998. To mark the tenth anniversary of the founding of the journal, as well as the 150th anniversary of the emancipation of the Jews in England, the Parkes Institute will host a reflexive workshop conference on the past, present and future of British Jewish studies, from medieval to contemporary studies. It will bring together established scholars in Britain, the USA and Israel as well as a younger generation working in this field. It will explore what happened to the study of new areas such as gender, culture and representation, antisemitism and Jewish/non-Jewish relations, migration and settlement, the experience of children and education, the capital and the provinces, intellectual and religious history and many others.

Is the field of British Jewish studies still dynamic? How have scholars of British history and culture treated the subject? Likewise, have scholars from Jewish history and culture more generally incorporated their work? Are there areas and approaches that still need developing? The intention will be to produce the proceedings in a special double edition of Jewish Culture and History.

BAJS Annual Conference, Manchester (20-22 July) as part of Manchester JudaicaFest 2008 (20-25 July)

A "JudaicaFest", comprising end-on conferences of the British Association for Jewish Studies (on the theme "Normative Judaism"), The Jewish Law Association, and a colloquium on "Jewish Culture in the Age of Globalisation", including featured speakers, will be held in Manchester in the week commencing Sunday 20th July 2008. The object of the combination of conferences is to explore the relationship between “classical” and “modern” Jewish Studies.

Click here for full details of the provisional programme, venue, accommodation, meals and bursaries.

Click here for the registration form, which includes costs of accommodation and meals.

Centre for the Study of Jewish–Christian relations (7-9 Sept 2008)

First call for papers

‘Memory in a Memory-Less Age’, Sunday 7th to Tuesday 9th Sept 2008
Peterhouse, University of Cambridge

Proposals for papers (30 minutes duration) are invited on the theme, for a conference organised by the Centre for the Study of Jewish–Christian relations to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Centre. Papers may be presented from a variety of disciplinary approaches that illustrate the theme with reference to the study of Jewish – Christian relations. Proposals, containing a title and an abstract of no more than 250 words, should be submitted by December 1st 2007 to Dr James Aitken (jka12@cam.ac.uk), CJCR, Wesley House, Jesus Lane, Cambridge CB5 8BJ UK. In conjunction with the conference, artistic events will be held, both throughout the year and at the time of the conference.

The Theme: ‘Memory in a Memory-Less Age’

Remembrance has been a central theme in Jewish–Christian relations, and a major justification for teaching the issue. However, how do we respond to this imperative to remember when instantaneous is preferred to long-lasting information, and when remembrance has become such a sensitive issue between generations?
It is often said that 'today’s news is tomorrow’s chip paper’, but the birth of the MTV generation and its finite, channel-hopping attention span has heralded a new style of reporting and recording. With the need for instantaneous gratification and an ever-increasing information overload, where and how much history is actually being recorded, preserved, remembered?

Topics that might be covered include: Memorial days and memorialisation, Interfaith Education and the internet, The internet as a means or an obstacle to remembrance, Education and the teaching of History, The psychology of remembrance, Memory in film and the Arts, Virtual Judaism