Event

Jewish individuals and communities have often been characterized by their ability to develop extensive networks, whether international in scope or as part of the social fabric of a specific community. The interdisciplinary nature of Jewish studies makes clear that the study of networks should be placed at its core. When one considers the richness of the Cairo Genizah, the astonishing spread of Sabbatianism, the ubiquity of Jewish vernaculars in the Diaspora, the instrumental role of self-help in Eastern Europe and in American immigrant communities, and the eager participation of Jewish intellectuals in Viennese café culture, it is hard not to be impressed by the depth and breadth of these connections. At the same time, digital networks and resources are today more than ever an invaluable tool for researchers in Jewish Studies. Indeed, explorations of networks and other facets of Jewish scholarship are taking place through use digital and other methods within our own network of students here at the University of Pennsylvania. We hope to explore the role of networks in Jewish Studies and in Jewish Studies at Penn.

Schedule

9:45 Continental Breakfast

10:00: Welcome & Opening Remarks
Prof. Beth Wenger, Department of History, Director of the Jewish Studies Program

10:15 – 12:00: Exploring Jewish Networks
Chair: Virginia Wayland, Religious Studies

Rachel Ellis – University of Pennsylvania, Sociology
“Social Networks and Denominational Identity: Immigrants and Jewish Denominations in the Early 20th Century”

Polly Zavadivker – University of California at Santa Cruz, History
“Fighting ‘On Our Own Territory’: The Rescue and Representation of Jews in Russia during World War I”

Julia Alford-Fowler - Temple University, Music Composition
"The Development of Klezmer Music: A Patchwork of Intercultural Networks"

12:00 - 1:00: Lunch

1:00 – 2:15: Digital Networks as Tools for Contemporary Research
Chair: Sonia Gollance, Germanic Languages and Literatures

Tom Tearney – University of Pennsylvania, Germanic Languages and Literatures
“Around the World in 80 Years: Yiddish Literature and the World Wide Web”

Konstanze Kunst – University of Pennsylvania, History
“Books Without Material Identity: Advantages and Pitfalls of Digital Hebraic Libraries”

David Zvi Kalman – University of Pennsylvania, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
"Unearthing the Genizah Online"

Virigina Wayland – University of Pennsylvania, Religious Studies
“Digital Databases for the Languages of Ancient Judaism”

2:15 – 2:45: Coffee

2:45 – 3:45: Dissertation Project Presentations
Chair: Marc Herman, Religious Studies

Sam Casper – University of Pennsylvania, History
"Rehabilitation and the Doctor's Plot: Tracing Precedents of Post-Stalin Exonerations and Restitution."

Phil Fackler – University of Pennsylvania, Religious Studies
“Where there is Christianity, there is no Judaism”: Jews and Christians in Ps.-Ignatius”

Nick Harris – University of Pennsylvania, Religious Studies
“The Death (and Life) of an Orientalist Revisited: Paul Kraus and the Shattering of Knowledge”

3:45 Closing Remarks

Co-Sponsored by: Germanic Languages and Literatures, History, Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations, and Religious Studies