Event

Is the writing of Jewish history possible without tears and tales of woe? This was the challenge leveled nearly a hundred years ago by perhaps the most influential Jewish historian in the United States, Salo Baron. Since then, scholars have worked to ensure that Jewish history is not reduced to a tale of suffering alone, and rightly so. But in recent years historians of Jewish life—from the Ancient Mediterranean to the modern Americas—have begun to wonder if perhaps we have written suffering and sadness too far out of the stories we tell. In this conference, an international group of scholars will join together to rethink this important question for the writing of Jewish history.

Through a series of presentations and discussions, participants will examine how scholars have balanced the weight of suffering with accounts of creativity, adaptation, and joy in Jewish life. What new methodological approaches might allow us to better capture the complexities of Jewish historical experience? How have different historiographical traditions influenced the ways in which sorrow and struggle are remembered—or forgotten? By bringing together voices from diverse fields, this conference aims to foster a fresh and critical conversation about the place of suffering in Jewish historiography and the possibilities for reimagining its role in our scholarly narratives.

Cosponsored with the Department of History and the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies.

SCHEDULE 

8:30 Coffee and Breakfast 

9am Greetings 

9:15-10:45 Session I: Ancient  [Chair: Natalie Dohrmann]

11:00-12:30 Session II: Medieval 

12:30-1:30 Lunch 

1:45-3:15 Session III: Early Modern  [Chair: tbd]

3:15-3:30 Coffee 

3:30-5:00 Session IV: Modern  [Chair: Ben Nathans/Beth Wenger] 

5:10-6:00 Roundtable Summation 

6:30 Dinner for presenters and invited guests  

More information is forthcoming.