CFP: Workshop “Studying Advertisements in pre-1939 Jewish Press: Methods and Challenges” Online Workshop, 21–23 February 2022

Application deadline: 15 September 2021

The main pages of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Jewish periodicals are filled with heated discussions concerning major issues which defined Jewish life in various places: nationalism (Jewish and non-Jewish alike), social and economic situation, cultural and ideological choices, religion and secularisation, relations with non-Jews, anti-Semitism, emigration, etc. Sections with advertisements printed in the historical Jewish press offer a close look at everyday Jewish life seen through the prism of consumer culture. They demonstrate how these big themes of Jewish history were translated into the everyday life of Jewish men, women and children. Advertisements offer glimpses into various aspects of the Jewish past: fashion, beauty products, patent medicines, religious books, education, entertainment, and many others. They can be used as a source for studying Jewish economic, social, cultural, religious or even political history. Yet, as source materials, they also present a number of methodolo­gical challenges.

This international workshop invites scholars studying advertisements in pre-1939 Jewish press printed in various languages and regions. We expect that each paper presented during the workshop – apart from analy­sing a specific source material from pre-1939 Jewish press – will also address the methodological aspect of using such source, its advantages, and challenges. Papers can cover topics rela­ted, but not limited, to:

·       Methodologies and theories in studying advertisements in the historical Jewish press

·       Advertisement as a source material for studying Jewish consumer culture

·       Advertisements between Jewish and non-Jewish consumer culture

·       Advertising strategies in advertisements directed to different audiences

·       Language(s) in advertisements in Jewish press

·       Advertisements and gender

·       Advertisements and politics

·       Visual and textual advertisement

All papers should be in English and not longer than 20 minutes. Scholars interested in applying for the workshop are kindly requested to send the following information:

·       Name/ Academic title/ Affiliation/  E-mail/ Time zone during the workshop dates/ 

·       Title of the presentation with a 250-word abstract

·       A short bio (100–150 words)

This information should be mailed as a separate Word/PDF file to the organizer of the workshop no later than 15 September 2021 at agnieszka.jagodzinska@uwr.edu.pl

The authors of accepted proposals will be notified by the end of October 2021.

Please contact the organizer directly for further information:

Agnieszka Jagodzińska

Associate Professor at the Taube Department of Jewish Studies, University of Wrocław

agnieszka.jagodzinska@uwr.edu.pl

http://judaistyka.en.uni.wroc.pl/

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International Conference: Rabbi David Zvi Hoffmann (1843-1921): Scholar, Exegete, Halakhist.

Call for Papers

Deadline: 31 August 2021

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch Chair for Research on the Torah with Derekh Erez Movement

Israel and Golda Koschitzky Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry

Multidisciplinary Department of Jewish Studies Bar-Ilan University Faculty of Jewish Studies

International Conference: Rabbi David Zvi Hoffmann (1843-1921): Scholar, Exegete, Halakhist

The Hebrew Year 5782 will mark the 100th anniversary of the passing of Rabbi David Zvi Hoffmann, the Hungarian-born rector of the Orthodox Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin during the first decades of the 20th century. In addition to training a generation of rabbis, his literary legacy includes his commentaries and scholarly writings on the Pentateuch, volumes of halakhic responsa, and several treatises on Talmudic literature, especially on the formal composition of Tannaitic literature.

These works not only display his breadth of knowledge and intellectual versatility, but also his capacity to inhabit different roles in parochial settings and the academy, to “code-switch” from the style and conventions of critical scholarship to the parlance of the traditional posek halakhah, engaging Wissenschaft des Judentums practitioners in one essay, then citing traditionalist authorities in his halakhic rulings.

We will mark his centennial yahrzeit by examining these distinct elements of his works and activities with the aim of achieving a more rigorous and critical portrait of a person who became an exemplar for Jewish scholars who seek to navigate the standards of balanced, scientific investigation with remaining embedded in and committed to their faith communities.

Scholars are invited to submit proposals for 20-minute lectures on aspects of Hoffmann’s life, works, or legacy.

The conference is scheduled to take place at Bar-Ilan University on Monday, 3 January 2022 (1 Shevat, 5782)

Please send proposals to RDZH.conference@gmail.com by 31 August 2021 (23 Elul, 5781)

Academic Organizing Committee: Emmanuel Bloch, Adam Ferziger, Elli Fischer, Tova Ganzel