COLLOQUIUM '09
CHALLENGING CONVENTION: SECULAR, HUMANIST AND JEW
OCTOBER 23-25, 2009
AT THE BIRMINGHAM TEMPLE, FARMINGTON HILLS, MICHIGAN
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Colloquium Program DVDs now available
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Colloquium
Every two years, in addition to its regular educational programs, the Institute in North America presents a special program called "The Colloquium". The Colloquium project provides new insight into crucial issues of Jewish identity and survival in the contemporary world. It includes not only scholars and academicians but also community leaders, popular writers, and creative artists.
Selected proceedings of each Colloquium are published by the Institute and are available for purchase. DVD recordings of some Colloquia are also available; please contact the Institute office at info@iishj.org or 248-476-9532, or visit our publications page here for more details.
Previous Colloquia
Colloquium '95, "The Unaffiliated Jew", the first Colloquium held in 1995, examined this most important area for Jewish survival. Its participants included Yehuda Amichai, Israel's pre-eminent poet; Yehuda Bauer, one of the world's leading Holocaust scholars; Jenna Joselit, a leading authority on Jewish life and culture in America; Egon Mayer, Director of the Jewish Outreach Institute for intermarried families; and Anne Roiphe, prominent writer on Jewish affairs.
To order a DVD set of this Colloquium, click here.
Colloquium '97, "Reclaiming Jewish History" presented to the public what historians and scholars have discovered about the truth behind the myths of Jewish history. Participants included Yehuda Bauer; Carol Meyers, expert on ancient Jewish history; Eric Meyers, an authority on the Maccabean period; Norman Cantor, scholar of medieval and Jewish history; and Steven Zipperstein, prominent historian of Jewish Eastern Europe.
To order a DVD set of this Colloquium, click here.
Colloquium '99, "Beyond Tradition: the Struggle for a New Jewish Identity" examined non-traditional Jewish alternatives, both historical and contemporary, ranging from Bundism and Ethical Culture to Reconstructionism, Jewish Renewal, and of course Secular Humanistic Judaism. Participants included Yaakov Malkin, Dean of the College of Pluralistic Judaism in Jerusalem; Marcia Falk, translator and liturgical author; Ze'ev Chafets, columnist for The Jerusalem Report ; and Shulamit Aloni, Israeli politician and civil rights activist.
To order a DVD set of this Colloquium, click here.
Colloquium '01, "Secular Spirituality: Passionate Journey to a Rational Judaism" looked for the balance between a secular lifestyle and the quest for 'spiritual' fulfillment, and what exactly that concept can mean to modern Jews, from the mystical to the secular and Humanistic. Participants included Ruth Calderon, Director of Alma College in Tel Aviv; Mitchell Silver of Camp Kinderland and Boston University; Joseph Chuman of Columbia University; Rahel Elior of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Norbert Samuelson of the University of Arizona.
To order a DVD set of this Colloquium, click here.
Colloquium '03, "Jews & Non-Jews: The Love/Hate Relationship" investigated the range of perspectives involving the love/hate relationship between Jews and non-Jews. Yehuda Bauer gave the keynote address. Lisa Beyer, David Biale, Ze'ev Chafets, Harry Cook, Lynn Davidman, Todd Endelman, Ya'acov Malkin, Egon Mayer, Derek Pensler and Sherwin Wine continued the discussion for the duration of the colloquium program. Topics included "A Christian Looks at Antisemitism," "Antisemitism of the Right and Left," "Being a Jew in a Christian World," "Being a Christian in a Jewish World," "Jewish Survival in an Open Society," and "Jews and Arabs." The program was held at The Birmingham Temple.
To order a DVD set of this Colloquium, click here.
Colloquium '05, "Digging for the Truth: Archaeology and the Bible" brought together Israel Finkelstein and Amihai Mazar, two of the leading figures in Israeli archaeology, to discuss and debate the true origins of the Jewish people based on the evidence. Other contributors to the discussion included Harry Cook, Yaakov Malkin, Paula McNutt, Brian Schmidt and Rabbi Sherwin Wine. Topics included "Patriarchs, exodus and conquest: fact or fiction?" "What is the truth about King Solomon's temple?" and "Implications for Jews and Christians."
To order a DVD set of this Colloquium, click here.
Colloquium '07, "Jews and the Muslim World: Solving the Puzzle"explored this crucial dilemma in historical and contemporary perspective, and in the shadow of the recent death of Rabbi Sherwin Wine, IISHJ Co-Dean. Contributors included Jacob Lassner on Islamic History, Jane Gerber on the Jews under Islam, Yehuda Bauer on Islamic Antisemitism, Derek Penslar on the impact of Zionism, Amir Hussain on Islam today, and Rabbi Adam Chalom, the just-appointed Dean for North America of the IISHJ.
To order a DVD set of this Colloquium, click here.
