Conference papers
Jewish Studies. The annual conference of the British and Irish Association for Jewish Studies takes place from 8 – 10 July in Bristol. Katja Stuerzenhofecker will deliver a paper entitled ‘The Jew who was there too: Orthodox women claiming mainstream ritual’ and lead a workshop on teaching gender in Jewish studies. She will also participate in a panel discussion ‘Where is the contemporary in Jewish studies?’ together with Centre for Jewish Studies Fellow Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz. Lou Schlagheck will present a paper titled ‘The “verjüdelte” Women’s Movement – Intersecting Antisemitism and Misogyny in the reception of the German Women’s Movement’. Kerry McCall will present a paper titled, ‘“Domestic Servant, Nothing Else”: Jewish Domestic Service Refugees and the Jewish Chronicle in 1930s Britain’.
AHRC Studentship success
Jewish Studies. Rabbi Aaron Lipsey has been awarded an AHRC Doctoral Studentship in the Religious Studies pathway for a project entitled 'The Responses of the Lubavitcher Rebbe to the Holocaust: A Study of His Letters, Talks and Teachings'. The project will be supervised by Alex Samely and Daniel Langton in the Dept of Religions and Theology, commencing in Sept 2024. Michael Hoelzl, lead for the North West Consortium Doctoral Training Programme for the Religions pathway commented "This PhD project represents an excellent opportunity to investigate some fascinating aspects of the so-called ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. I congratulate Aaron, who is an exceptional student and who graduated from our MA degree programme in the Study of Religions and Theology several years ago, on winning this prestigious AHRC award. I hope that this will encourage other mid- and late-career candidates, and even post-career students, to apply for external funding and to undertake a PhD at the University of Manchester."
Stephen Smalley, 1931-2024
New Testament Studies. We are sorry to learn of the death of Stephen Smalley who was Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer, in New Testament in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Manchester from 1970-1977 in the era of F.F. Bruce, and Dean of Chester 1987-2001. Stephen wrote several books and articles on the Johannine Literature, some of which remain in print and are much used, including John Evangelist and Interpreter (1984), Thunder and Love: John's Revelation and John's Community (1994), The Revelation to John: A Commentary on the Greek text of the Apocalypse(2005), and Hope for Ever: The Christian View of Life and Death (2005). Philip Alexander will represent informally the University and the Department at the funeral.
Interview
Dead Sea Scrolls. On April 15, George Brooke was interviewed about the Copper Scroll for From the Desk website. He even mentioned Manchester! Read it here.
New publication
Jewish Studies. Congratulations to MA student Yehudis Fletcher on the publication of 'Indecent Jewish theology, post October 7: the G-d of the bathroom floor', in Freedman, R and Hirsh, D (eds.) Responses to 7 October: Law and Society. London, UK. Routledge, 2024. Further information.
New publication
CJS honorary research fellow Richard Fay, along with Daniel J. Mawson and Nahielly Palacios, have published a chapter in the new publication, Teaching Music Performance in Higher Education. The chapter is titled ‘Intercultural Musicking - Reflection in, on, and for Situated Klezmer Ensemble Performance’ and the whole book is available to read online here.
Public event, Muslim Jewish Forum
Jewish-Muslim relations. The 1988 publication of Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses was followed by major protests by Muslims in the UK and many foreign countries, and by Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issuing a fatwa (Arabic for an Islamic legal opinion) that Rushdie should be killed. In this talk, Robert Kanter will discuss the impact of the Rushdie affair on Muslim-Jewish relations in the UK. His talk will include the role of the Chief Rabbi Lord Jakobovits and the impact of his actions and responses. There will be plenty of time for audience questions. Sunday 23 June, 7pm on Zoom. Register here.
Neurodiversity in Reading Workshop
PGR workshop. This workshop is aimed at neurodivergent PGR students at the University of Manchester, and will involve reading short pieces of text followed by a free discussion, where we can share and compare our experiences of reading and discuss the theoretical background of interacting with textuality. Open to all PGRs who consider themselves neurodivergent. Monday 20 May, 10am - 1pm in A116 Samuel Alexander building. Register here.
Reading group, Phenomenology
Phenomenology. The Phenomenology Reading Group will devote its final meetings this semester to Walter Benjamin’s Messianic-materialist thought on the nature of history. The meetings will be Wednesdays at 5–6.30 pm by zoom on 22 May and 5 June (the latter to be confirmed). We will begin by discussing Benjamin’s “Theses on the Philosophy of History”. Please get in touch with the convenor Alex Samely (alex.samely@manchester.ac.uk) if you wish to join. Further information.
New podcast series
Jewish Studies and New Testament Studies. 'What would Jesus the Jew do?' is new podcast exploring key questions that will help readers of the New Testament to better understand Judaism at the time of Jesus. In each episode, scholars from the Centre for Jewish Studies and Centre for Biblical Studies at the University of Manchester talk listeners through a topic. The companion website provides links to all of the episodes as well as additional resources to deepen your understanding. Further information.
Film event, Drama with Centre for Jewish Studies and German
Holocaust Studies. You are invited to the screening of Farewell, Herr Schwarz (Germany/Israel, 2014) followed by filmmaker Q&A session. Yael Reuveny’s documentary attempts to answer for the filmmaker herself why her great-uncle, a Holocaust survivor, chose to resettle in East Germany after the war and start a family there; a life her family in Israel only learned about after his death in the late 1980s.
The event takes place on Monday 15 April 2024, 12:00 – 15:00. Please email katja.stuerzenhofecker@manchester.ac.uk for venue details.
Student travel grant
Holocaust studies. As part of her bequest to the University of Manchester, Prof. Fanny Bogdanow funded an annual lecture series and a number of student travel bursaries for educational visits to Auschwitz-Birkenau. This year the Centre for Jewish Studies can allocate up to 2 awards of £400 each. Application deadline: 8 April 2024. For more details on eligibility and how to apply, see further information.
New podcast
Holocaust Studies. We are delighted to announce that the Bogdanow Lectures 2024 are now available to view online. The series is entitled 'The Return of the Repressed: Ukraine's Unresolved Pasts' and was presented by Prof. Omer Bartov (Brown University). Lecture 1: History, Myth, and Fiction: Narratives of the Ukrainian Past. Lecture 2: Coexistence and Violence: The Reality and Memory of Genocide in Ukraine. View podcasts.
Workshop, USHMM
Ion Popa will lead a workshop with The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum titled ‘Finding Religion in the USHMM Collections: New Methods for Archival Research’. In-person workshop, 29 July- 2 August 2024. Further information.
Research seminar, University of Glasgow
Moshe Behar will present a paper titled ‘Nullified by Holocaust and Nakba? Arabised-Jews, 1937-1956’. 8 February, 4-5.30pm on Zoom and in-person at 4 The Square, room 205 (University of Glasgow).
Research seminar, History Dept
31 Jan 2024. Dr. Nina Valbousquet will present a paper to the Humanitarian History Dept Seminar on ‘Catholic Humanitarianism through War and Genocide: the Vatican, the Holocaust and Jewish Refugees (1930s-1950s)’. This event will run from 4-5pm and will be held in C1.18 (Ellen Wilkinson). All are welcome to attend.
Bogdanow Lectures in Holocaust Studies 2024
Online Lectures in Holocaust Studies. Prof. Omer Bartov (Brown University), ‘The Return of the Repressed: Ukraine's Unresolved Pasts’, 6pm GMT, 30 and 31 Jan 2024. For zoom links see further information.
Sherman Community Lecture 2023
Annual lecture in Jewish Studies. Prof Hava Tirosh-Samuelson (Arizona State University) gave this year's lecture, co-hosted with the Jewish Rep Council, on "Judaism and Climate Change: Religious Responses to the Eco-Crisis." Mon 27 Nov. Watch again.
The Megillah at the Rylands
Rachel Lichtenstein has been working with the Rothschild Foundation Haanadiv Europe for the relaunch of their Hidden Treasures website. Read her blog post here.
Appointment, Office for Students
Consultant role. Daniel Langton has been appointed as the lead assessor for Jewish Studies for the Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of Higher Education in England.