The Inaugural San Francisco State University Community Colloquium in Jewish Studies

The theme of “Jewish life in gentile society” brings forward subjects in American Jewish life represented by seemingly opposing poles, such as security and fear, poverty and financial stability, Diaspora and center, and the dual consciousness of being an American and a Jew at the same time. Throughout history, Jews have struggled to negotiate a place for themselves in non-Jewish society, while seeking to claim intellectual space in the public discourse. That is, Jews continuously and continually construct their Jewish identity in the midst of their other identities. Exploration of these subjects is the heart of this exciting program. (Scroll Down for the entire program)

February 16, 2005 7:30pm
Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
3200 California Street (at Presidio)
San Francisco, CA

Medieval Islam
Fred Astren, PhD (UC Berkeley)
Professor and Director, SFSU Jewish Studies Program

Jews of the Islamic world in the Middle Ages have become objects of historical inquiry, antiquarian curiosity, and mythification. The contemporary idea of a clash of civilizations reverberates throughout representations of the Jews of Islam, who are used for national, religious and other ideological purposes. Drawing on current scholarly research, this lecture will explore the normalization and foreignness of Jews in medieval Islam. In addition, Astren will examine the way this subject is manipulated in current debates on Israel, Palestine, the Middle East and the international confrontation between the United States and its opponents.

Fred Astren is a historian of medieval Jews and Judaism, who works on Karaite Judaism, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the relationship of Judaism and Islam. His recent book is Karaite Judaism and Historical Understanding.

March 28, 2005 7:30pm
Congregation Emanu-El
2 Lake Street (at Arguello)
San Francisco, CA

Twentieth-Century Latin America
Kitty Millet, PhD (University of Minnesota)
Assistant Professor, SFSU Jewish Studies Program

In Latin America, Jewish writers have historically faced challenges particular to the pampas, the street and the jungle. Countries, like Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Guatemala and Brazil offer the Jewish writer, then, an opportunity to reshape the tenets of biblical, kabalistic and Talmudic texts so that the Jewish text offers not only commentary, but also transformation. Thus the characters of these texts become the patriarchs, the prophets and the heroes of a new tradition. Millet will explore this “new tradition” by focusing on how a contemporary generation of Jewish writers navigate the politics, the cultures and the customs of Latin America.

Kitty Millet’s recent work focuses on Holocaust Literatures and the unique demands they place on Western readers. She has published on German-Jewish cultural studies, Jewish winemaking in the Pfalz, and the Latin American testimonio.

April 12, 2005 7:30pm
Jewish Community Library
1835 Ellis Street (bet. Scott & Pierce)
San Francisco, CA

Twentieth-Century America
Marc Dollinger, PhD (UCLA)
The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Professor in Jewish Studies and Social Responsibility, SFSU Jewish Studies Program

In the last century, the American Jewish community has matured from an economically impoverished immigrant population to one of the most successful and influential ethnic groups in the country. American opportunity, though, has weighed on Jewish communal cohesion. Some claim that American Jews have already lost their distinctive identity. Neither assessment rings true. Come hear a provocative retelling of twentieth century American Jewish life.

Marc Dollinger writes on Jews and politics in modern America. He is author of Quest for Inclusion: Jews and Liberalism in Modern America, co-editor of California Jews, and at work on, Is It Good For The Jews? Power, Politics and the 1960s.
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