The Kennicot Bible: Jonah. (La Coruña, Spain, 1476) © Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Kenn. 1, fol. 305r.

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Call for Papers. Twelfth EAJS Congress. “Branching Out. Diversity of Jewish Studies”. Frankfurt/Main, Germany. 16-20 July 2023. Deadline: 31 December 2022

5 December 2022 by EAJS Administrator

Branching Out. Diversity of Jewish Studies

Twelfth EAJS Congress (16-20 July 2023)

Call for Papers

Deadline for Submissions: 23:59 (GMT+1), 31 December 2022 (This deadline will not be extended)

Jewish Studies is – and has been since Leopold Zunz’ Etwas über die rabbinische Literatur – a multi-disciplinary field that brings together scholars, topics and methods from across many academic disciplines. Additionally, Jewish Studies scholars are often involved in multi-disciplinary networks, cooperating and communicating with colleagues from a wide variety of fields. At the same time, research into Jewish history, culture, languages and the like is not limited to Jewish Studies departments, creating yet wider networks and even greater diversity.

The twelfth EAJS congress, “Branching Out. Diversity of Jewish Studies”, taking place in Frankfurt/Main (Germany) on 16-20 July 2023, will showcase the diversity that is an integral part of Jewish Studies: research topics that range from the Bible and ancient history to contemporary Jewish thought and culture, a multitude of different sources from all over the world, methods and approaches from archaeology to digital humanities, and a vast array of interdisciplinary networks and research approaches.

Scholars of Jewish Studies from Europe and beyond are invited to propose papers and sessions. The Call for Papers (http://eajs-2023.eu) contains all formal requirements and a full list of sections and their rationale. Proposals for papers and sessions must be submitted via the congress website.

The maximum duration of a paper is twenty minutes; sessions may include either four speakers or three speakers and a respondent. We expect sessions to honour the title of the congress and reflect the diversity of Jewish Studies scholars by considering the possibilities of gender diversity, and by including scholars from different universities and at least one early career researcher. Sessions that do not reflect diversity will be at a significant disadvantage in the review process.

A special call for papers for “EAJS Emerge”, addressed to PhD students in Jewish Studies, will be published separately. PhD students who wish to present their work within the framework of the regular call for papers need to add a letter of recommendation from their supervisor to their proposal.

Proposals for papers and sessions will be accepted until 23:59 (GMT+1), 31 December 2022. Please note that this deadline will not be extended! All proposals received before this deadline will be reviewed by specialists in the respective field of Jewish Studies. Decisions will be communicated in February 2023. Papers and sessions will be included in the programme only if (all) speakers have registered for the congress and paid their fees by 31 March 2023.

Congress fees:

Paid up EAJS Members: € 80

EAJS Student Members: € 50

Non-Members: € 180

Non-Members (PhD Students): € 80

Filed Under: EAJS Congresses

Twelfth EAJS Congress (16-20 July 2023) – EAJS Emerge: Call for Applications – Deadline: 31 December 2022

5 December 2022 by EAJS Administrator

Branching Out. Diversity of Jewish Studies

Twelfth EAJS Congress (16-20 July 2023)

EAJS Emerge: Call for Applications

Deadline for Applications: 23:59 (GMT+1), 31 December 2022

Jewish Studies is a multi-disciplinary field that brings together scholars, topics, and methods from across many academic disciplines. The twelfth EAJS congress “Branching Out. Diversity of Jewish Studies”, taking place in Frankfurt/Main (Germany) on July 16-20 2023, will showcase the diversity that is an integral part of Jewish Studies: research topics that range from the Bible and ancient history to contemporary Jewish Thought and Culture, a multitude of different sources from all over the world, methods and approaches from Archaeology to Digital Humanities, and the vast array of interdisciplinary networks and research approaches.

EAJS Emerge provides a forum for (post)graduate student members and emerging scholars to discuss their research with each other and to engage with more senior academics. We envision a combination of PhD Flash presentations (5 minutes), reactions from selected senior scholars from the respective fields, workshops on publishing and funding, as well as opportunities for networking etc., and possibly shared experiences by Early career researchers. A presentation is not required for participation.

Student members of the EAJS (and doctoral students who are not members of the EAJS) are invited to submit their proposals in order to present their dissertation topics in 5 minutes. A recommendation letter by the PhD-supervisors is not required. Proposals will be accepted until 23:59 (GMT+1), 31 December 2022. Proposals should be submitted through the Congress website, https://eajs-2023.eu

Congress fees:

EAJS Student Members:  € 50

Non-EAJS Graduate Students:  € 80

A grant program for EAJS Student Members, early career researchers, and scholars from countries with below average income will offer free accommodation for July 16-21 2023 to those awarded the grant. The call for applications for this grant program will be published separately on eajs-2023.eu and in the EAJS Newsletter; grant applications by student members who plan to actively participate (with a presentation on their PhD project) will be considered first.

Filed Under: EAJS Congresses

A History of EAJS Congresses

9 May 2015 by EAJS Administrator

EAJS Congresses

The Twelfth EAJS Congress will be held in Frankfurt, Germany, on 16-20 July 2023

1982: First EAJS Congress, Oxford, 18th-21st July 1982

1984: Methodology in Jewish Studies. Second EAJS Congress, Oxford, 22nd-26th July 1984

1987: The Interpretation of Scripture in Judaism. Third EAJS Congress, Berlin, 26th-31st July 1987

1990: Commentary, Interpretation, Translation. Fourth EAJS Congress, Troyes, 8th-13th July 1990

1994: Jewish Studies in a New Europe. Fifth EAJS Congress, Copenhagen, 14th-18th August 1994

1998: Jewish Studies at the Turn of the Twentieth Century. Sixth EAJS Congress, Toledo, 19th-23rd July 1998

[Proceedings published as Judit Targarona Borrás and Angel Sáenz-Badillos (Editors) Jewish Studies at the Turn of the Twentieth Century. Proceedings of the 6th EAJS Congress Toledo, July 1998. 2 volumes. Leiden, Brill, 1999]

2002: Jewish Studies and the European Academic World. Seventh EAJS Congress, Amsterdam, 21st-25th July 2002

[Keynote lectures published as Albert van der Heide and Irene E. Zwiep (Editors) Jewish Studies and the European Academic World. Plenary Lectures read at the VIIth Congress of the European Association for Jewish Studies (EAJS) Amsterdam, July 2002. Collection de la Revue des Études juives dirigée par Simon C. Mimouni en Gérard Nahon. Peeters, Paris-Louvain, 2005  ISBN 90-429-1616-8 / 2-87723-871-7]

2006: Past and present perspectives in Jewish Studies. Eighth EAJS Congress, Moscow, 23rd-27th July 2006

2010: Judaism in the Mediterranean Context. Ninth EAJS Congress, Ravenna, 25th-29th July 2010

2014: Jewish and Non-Jewish Cultures in Contact: New Research Perspectives. Tenth EAJS Congress, Paris, 20th-24th July 2014

2018: Searching for Roots of Jewish Traditions, Eleventh EAJS Congress, Kraków, 15th-19th July 2018

Filed Under: EAJS Congresses

Jewish and Non-Jewish Cultures in Contact: New Research Perspectives. Tenth EAJS Congress, Paris, 20th-24th July 2014

8 May 2015 by EAJS Administrator

 

 

 

X Congress of the European Association for Jewish Studies
Paris, France July 20-24, 2014
“Jewish and Non-Jewish Cultures in Contact: New Research Perspectives”

The Tenth Congress of the European Association for Jewish Studies took place in the quartier latin in Paris, from 20th to 24th July 2014. The conference was held in two major French institutions: the Ecole Normale Supérieure and the Sorbonne. Just over 700 papers in all fields of Jewish studies were presented in parallel sessions (sixteen at a time). The congress theme was Jewish and Non-Jewish Cultures in Contact: New Research Perspectives.

The Congress attracted an unprecedented number of participants. More than 950 scholars and students from Europe and beyond attended the Congress, more than 700 presented a paper. This massive interest reflects the importance of Jewish Studies in Europe, and underscores the important role the EAJS plays in contributing to scholarly cohesion and networking.

The thematic organization of the sessions and panels was the result of careful planning by the members of the scientific committee. Two hundred and twelve thematic sessions of three or four papers each were held in 16 lecture rooms. Although it was not always possible to create perfectly coherent sessions, and especially to avoid overlap between lectures in the same field, most participants were able to attend a maximum of lectures of interest to them. All fields of Jewish studies were represented, with a particular focus on history and heritage studies, as the following table illustrates.

  1. Anthropology and sociology of Judaism: 7 participants
  2. Archaeology of Judaism: 11
  3. Bible in its Near Eastern Context: 17
  4. Gender studies: 8
  5. History:
  • Late Antiquity: 16
  • Middle Ages: 91
  • Modernity: 38
  • Contemporary (Eastern Europe): 37
  • Contemporary (Western Europe): 34
  • Israel: 19
  1. History of Jewish Law and Law applied to the Jews: 16
  2. History of sciences: 10
  3. Literature:
  • Exegesis: 3
  • Talmud and Rabbinics: 57
  • Second Temple and Late Antiquity: 9
  • Medieval Hebrew literature and poetry: 29
  • Liturgy: 3
  • Qumran: 6
  • Modern Hebrew Literature: 21
  1. Hebrew language and linguistics: 16
  2. Jewish languages and linguistics: 56
  3. Jewish minorities: 9
  4. Musicology: 7
  5. New technologies applied to Jewish studies: 6
  6. Heritage:
  • Jewish archives: 12
  • Jewish art: 32
  • History of Hebrew book: 31
  1. Jewish Thought:
  • Hassidism: 1
  • mysticisme and Kabbala: 38
  • theological thought: 18
  • philosophy: 21
  1. Shoah and antisemitism: 22

TOTAL : 702

 

The evenings and Wednesday afternoon were dedicated to keynote lectures, round tables and special events.

On July 20, 2014 the Congress was opened with an Opening Ceremony that included speeches by Professor Judith Olszowy-Schlanger, President of the EAJS 2010-2014 and organiser of the Tenth Congress, Professor Marie-Christine Lemardeley (Maire Adjointe de Paris), Professor and Chef Rabbi René-Samuel Sirat, Professor Hubert Bost (Président de l’EPHE), Professor Jean-Marie Le Gall (Directeur de l’UFR Histoire de Paris 1), Professor Martin Goodman (University of Oxford) and Professor Mireille Hadas-Lebel (Université Paris 4).

A concert of medieval Jewish music of Northern France by the ensemble Alla Francesca, introduced by a lecture of Professor Colette Sirat: “Jews and trouvères in the 13th century,” concluded the ceremony.

The following keynote lectures were delivered during the Congress:

  • Geoffrey Khan and Ben Outhwaite, “The Reception of Biblical Hebrew in the Middle Ages”
  • Anthony T. Grafton and Joanna Weinberg, “Compilation and Observation in Johann Buxtorf’s Synagogue of the Jews”
  • Fishman: “Our Inheritance, our Yerusha: Securing the Jewish Documentary Legacy in Europe” (Launching ‘Yerusha’ Programme of the Rothschild Foundation Europe)
  • Francesca Trivellato, “Jewish Christian Credit Relations and the Economic History of Modern Europe”
  • Yaakov Shavit, “The Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible: Worlds Apart?”

In a special lecture at the Closing Ceremony, AB Yehoshua addressed the topic, “From Mythology to History: Journey to the End of the Millennium.”

Two Round Tables allowed for an in-depth disciplinary reflection:

  • “Hebrew manuscripts and collections as a meeting point between the cultures” (organised by Colette Sirat)
  • “Teaching Jewish Studies: Issues, Challenges and Solutions” (organised by A. Houtman)

Receptions:

  • Opening Ceremony, Réfectoire des Cordeliers, 20 July 2014
  • Cocktail, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire du Judaïsme, 23 July 2014
  • Closing Ceremony, Mairie du Ve arrondissement de Paris, 24 July 2014

An important feature of the Congress was the place reserved for doctoral students and young researchers. Their papers were systematically integrated into sessions alongside papers by established scholars in the various fields; a special round table on the subject of funding in Jewish Studies was organized by the EAJS (under the responsibility of Prof. Philip Alexander) for their benefit, and their participation in the Congress was facilitated by reduced Congress fees, travel grants and the possibility to book cheap students’ accommodation on the site of the Congress, at the Ecole Normale Supérieure.

The EAJS Congress was locally managed by a consortium of French academic institutions, with the financial and logistic support of several state, academic and private bodies and foundations. The main organizing institutions were the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, the Ecole Normale Supérieure and the History Department of the University Paris 1-Sorbonne. In addition, the EAJS Congress received support of the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO-CERMOM), University Paris 8, Ecole des Hautes Etudes des Sciences Sociales, Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des Textes (IRHT-CNRS), project RELMIN of the University of Nantes, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire du Judaïsme, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Alliance Israélite Universelle and Bibliothèque Mazarine. The Congress was funded in part by the Rothschild Foundation Europe, the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah, Fondation du Judaïsme Français, Ville de Paris, Région Ile de France, Société des études juives, the French Friends of the Hebrew University Association and the Mayor of the Vth district of Paris. Colleagues of many Parisian and French universities and research institutes contributed to the scientific organization of the project through the participation of their staff in the scientific committee of the Congress. Indeed, the scientific organization of the Congress was entrusted to a scientific committee of 30 scholars belonging to main French universities and research institutions who were further assisted by other European specialists in the relevant fields. Administratively, the Congress was managed by a team of three coordinators (Yonith Benhamou, David Lemler and Judith Schlanger). For the duration of the Congress (20-24 July), a team of 20 volunteers (doctoral students and young researchers in Hebrew and Jewish studies) coordinated by Sarah Fargeon took care of the smooth running of the Congress.

Judith Olszowy-Schlanger
President of the EAJS 2010-2014

Filed Under: EAJS Congresses

Judaism in the Mediterranean Context. Ninth EAJS Congress, Ravenna, 25th-29th July 2010

12 October 2010 by EAJS Administrator

IX Congress of the European Association for Jewish Studies
Ravenna, Italy July 25-29, 2010
“Judaism in the Mediterranean Context”

The ninth Congress of the European Association for Jewish Studies was held in Ravenna, Italy, from 25th to 29th July, 2010.

Organized by Professor Mauro Perani, President of the European Association for Jewish Studies and, at the same time, of the Italian Association for Jewish Studies (Associazione Italiana per lo Studio del Giudaismo, AISG), the congress convened on the premises of the Ravenna branch of the University of Bologna, and welcomed more than 400 scholars and students from all over Europe, Israel and the USA. The general title of the congress, “Judaism in the Mediterranean Context,” was chosen so as to allow the utmost freedom as far as the presentations, the panels and the single papers are concerned, but also to show how the roots of Jewish experience are deeply connected with the Mediterranean space or, conversely, how the political, geographical and cultural framework called the Mediterranean provided the main context for the expansion and development of Jewish history over the centuries. A historical basis was unmistakably at the centre of the concept of the ninth congress, perhaps due to the historical background of Jewish studies in Italy, where history forms the core of classical curricula and the goal of many case studies and specialized disciplines dealing with the Jews and Judaism. Therefore, the Congress received its shape from the three keynote lectures which structured the plenary session on the three days (July 27th, 28th and 29th) in which the congress fully developed.

The first plenary lecture, concerning antiquity, was presented by Professor Martin Goodman (Oxford) on the morning of 27th July. Under the title “Titus, Berenice and Agrippa: the Last Days of the Temple in Jerusalem,” Professor Goodman offered a novel perspective on these events by posing the question of the attitude of Berenice and Agrippa to the Temple at the moment of its destruction. The demise of the Temple shaped the subsequent history of Judaism and of the West in a profound way, but at the time of Agrippa and Berenice, other possibilities were still open. Historical knowledge can only progress by asking whether the fatal rupture between Roman Empire and Jewish insurgents was really inevitable.  Thus, right at the beginning of the congress the capacity of historical questioning for opening a fruitful debate was masterfully exhibited.

The second plenary lecture, in the morning session of Tuesday 28th July, concerned the Middle Ages and, similarly, it questioned a key concept, in this case the existence of a “Jewish Middle Ages”. Historian Kenneth Stow of the University of Haifa presented, in his lecture “Was there a Jewish Middle Ages?”, the evidence and the problematic aspects of the very notion of a “Jewish” Medieval experience. Not only the periodization, the well known problems of setting the boundaries of a historical period conceptualized for the general, that is Christian, society came to the fore but especially the question of the institutional framework within which the Jewish communities and individuals could exist and, even more, the self-perception of the Jews within a Medieval society. A lively debate followed the presentation, a further proof that the presentation by Professor Stow stimulated further discussion and contributed to problematie historical wisdom by showing its ideological ingredients.

The third plenary lecture, presented on Wednesday 29th July by the doyen of Jewish History Professor Shlomo Simonsohn of Tel Aviv, concentrated on the host country of the congress, that is Italy, in his brilliant and rich overview: “Jewish Italy: the melting pot of Mediterranean Jews.” Simonsohn’s perspective, focused as it was on a single country, provided a notable picture, from antiquity to modern times, concerning the peculiar structure of Italian Jewry: not only is the historian confronted with an enduring pattern of plurality among the Jews in Italy, where Old-Italian, Sephardic, Ashkenazi and Levantine groups lived side by side for centuries, but also the relationship with the Pagan and Christian environment was, most of the time, one of integration and of mutual interchange. Italy functioned for centuries as an advanced workshop were multiple identities were confronted and moulded, where the boundaries between competing communities were constantly reshaped. Simonsohn’s presentation offered a further chance to reflect on the “Italian case” in its specific traits, suggesting a framework in which the discussions of the last day of the congress could be placed.

The congress programme contained sixteen thematic sections reflecting the variety and richness of the approaches to Jewish studies in present academic life. The sections too followed an historic scheme, ranging from biblical times to contemporary Jewish experience, and included specific sections on the Jewish book (from manuscripts to printed books), Jewish languages, Art, philosophy and the ever blossoming field of Jewish mysticism, encompassing Kabbala and Jewish magic.

The complete congress programme and an exhaustive collection of the abstracts may be found in the volume Judaism in the Mediterranean Context, Program and Abstracts of the IX Congress of the European Association for Jewish Studies, Ravenna 25th – 29th July, 2010, edited by Mauro Perani, Marta Porcedda and Enrica Sagradini, Ravenna 2010 (available upon request at mauro.perani@unibo.it).  Rather than report in a detailed way on every single contribution to the congress, we will list the section titles and their relative figures:

  1. Biblical History and Archaeology: 6 papers;
  2. Biblical Literature and Language: 8 papers;
  3. Second Temple Judaism: 22 papers;
  4. Jews and Judaism in Late Antiquity: 14 papers;
  5. Rabbinic Literature: 21 papers;
  6. Medieval Jewish History: 16 papers;
  7. Medieval Jewish Literature: 27 papers;
  8. Manuscripts, Codices and Books: 21 papers;
  9. Early Modern History (1492-1600): 18 papers;
  10. Modern Jewish History (1600-1933): 58 papers;
  11. Modern Jewish Literature: 31 papers;
  12. Jewish Languages: 15 papers;
  13. Jewish Arts: 29 papers;
  14. Contemporary Jewish History (after 1933): 22 papers;
  15. Jewish Philosophy: 16 papers;
  16. Jewish Mysticism, Kabbala, Magic: 17 papers.

Leading scholars and PhD students, established researchers and beginners shared a forum for discussion, exchange of information, networking and fostering new plans for research across the borders of national academic institutions, languages and disciplines.

The general assembly of the association took place on 27th July and acclaimed the new President of the Association, Judith Olszowy-Schlanger, who will prepare the next quadriennial congress to be held in Paris in 2014. Some members of the previous Executive Committee stepped down after a period of service: Sacha Stern, secretary of the association (whose role has been undertaken by Daniel Langton, previously secretary of the British Association for Jewish Studies); Stefan Schreiner, Lola Cano Ferre, and the treasurer Saverio Campanini (whose function is now performed by Gad Freudenthal). The assembly also elected the future president, Edward Dabrowa, who will have the responsibility of organising the quadriennial Congress of the Association in Krakow in 2018. The new Executive Committee has been elected in the same evening and comprises the following members: Judith Olszowy-Schlanger (President); Gad Freudenthal (Treasurer); Daniel Langton (Secretary); Martin Goodman; Andreas Lehnardt; Mauro Perani (Past President); Javier Castaño; Alberdina Houtman; Edward Dabrowa (President-elect).

The Congress was accompanied by musical and cultural events including, to name only the highlights: a concert by a local group, the Siman Tov Ensemble, performing klezmer music; Sephardic songs performed by EAJS member Judith R. Cohen; and a performance of moving songs by celebrated Italian performer Miriam Meghnagi. Moreover, an exhibition of Hebrew manuscripts was organized by the Biblioteca Classense in Ravenna and excursions to Jewish Venice (on 25th July) and to Bertinoro and Ancona (on 30th July) were organized and many Congress participants took advantage of this unique occasion for visiting some of the most interesting sites of Jewish history in the North-Eastern part of the Peninsula.

Saverio Campanini (former Treasurer).

Filed Under: EAJS Congresses

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Russian Invasion of Ukraine

The EAJS condemns Russia’s unprecedented and barbaric aggression against Ukraine. We express solidarity with Ukraine, with its democratically-elected government and with its people. All Ukrainian academics and university students are in our thoughts and prayers. [Link for longer version of statement and resources]

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