BAJS Bulletin 2015
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BAJS Bulletin 2015: Contents Jewish Studies at the University of Manchester Jewish Studies at Manchester University 1 Parkes Institute celebrates Golden Jubilee 4 This year’s BAJS conference will be held in Jewish Studies News: Edinburgh 5 Manchester, a university with has a long-established Jewish Studies News: Nottingham 7 interest in Biblical and Jewish Studies. This article Jewish Studies News: UCL 8 Jewish Studies News: Oxford 8 describes its history and the current activities at Journal of Semitic Studies is 60 11 Manchester. European Association for Jewish Studies 11 FellowshiP at Edinburgh: RePort 12 History BAJS Prize 2014: RePort 14 New BAJS conference Proceedings 15 i BAJS Conference 2016: Call for Papers 16 The University of Manchester has a distinguished BAJS Conference 2015: Programme 17 record in the research and teaching of Jewish and Woolf Institute ScholarshiP 20 Biblical Studies, beginning with the Talmudic BAJS Committee 21 scholar Tobias Theodores who taught Biblical New aPPointments, Promotions, honours 23 Hebrew from 1866.ii Other Prominent individuals Current research Projects 23 include the biblical scholar James Barr and the Ongoing doctoral research 25 historian and scholar of Semitic languages, Edward Members’ recent Publications 30 Ullendorff. Modern Hebrew has featured Book Reviews 35 prominently, with language and literature The British Association for Jewish Studies (BAJS) was specialists such as Meir Wallenstein, who chaired founded in 1975 as a learned society and Professional the city’s Tarbut Society, and, more recently, Leon organization on a non-profit-making basis. Its aims are to Yudkin. In fact, Manchester was amongst the nurture, cultivate and advance the teaching and research earliest to teach modern Hebrew from the 1930s in Jewish culture and history in all its aspects within and was the first UK university to offer a BA degree Higher Education in the British Isles. in modern Hebrew (one of the two first graduates was David Patterson in 1949); it Published the Contact: modern Hebrew language journal of Jewish Studies, BAJS Secretary Melilah from 1944 to 1955. Helen SPurling ([email protected]) History, Faculty of Humanities University of SouthamPton The University has long-established links with the SouthamPton local Jewish community, which dates back to the S017 1BF 1780s and remains the largest in the UK outside London. Over the years many Jewish scholars have Bulletin editor: taught at the University, a number of whom were Maria Diemling closely involved with the Zionist movement.iii Chaim ([email protected]) Weizmann lectured on chemistry and Weizmann’s contemPorary, the eminent PhilosoPher Samuel Alexander, introduced him to Balfour. The modern historian, Sir Lewis Namier, was also active in assisting Weizmann. Philip Hartog, a fervent anti- If you have not already done so, Please sign uP to Zionist, was lecturer in Chemistry (leaving to the BAJS website! become academic registrar of London University, http://britishjewishstudies.org just before Weizmann arrived). There were very strong connections to the Manchester Reform congregation; in addition to Theodores and Hartog, BAJS Bulletin 2015 · 1 Gustav Gottheil, who was rabbi of the synagogue library, and the Orthodox rabbi and historian, 1860-1873, taught German, and Laurence Mark Alexander Altmann, who established in 1941 the non-affiliated Institution for Higher Jewish Tobias Theodores: The Founding Education.v Figure of Jewish Studies at Manchester The Centre for Jewish Studies Tobias Theodores (1808-1886) was born in Margulin in the Prussian Province of The present Centre for Jewish Studies was Posen, he had grown up in Berlin at the established in 1996 when the existing Provision time of the radical reform movement led was strengthened by the creation of the Alliance by Israel Jacobson, and had come to Chair in Modern Jewish Studies. It connects staff England as a youth. After an early career located in the subject areas of Middle Eastern as an itinerant language teacher, was Studies,vi Religions and Theology,vii German, apPointed in 1851 to a teaching Post in History, Linguistics, and East EuroPean Studies.viii German at Owens College, which had Currently, there are five Postgraduate fellows,ix and been established the same year. From recent visiting fellows from abroad have included 1866 he was Professor of German (until the Talmudic scholar Natalie Polzer (Louiseville, 1871), of French (until 1880), and of USA) and the historian of Anglo-Jewry Wang Benli Hebrew (until 1884). Among his (Suzhou, China). The most recent addition to the list publications were an Introductory of honorary fellows is Rabbi David Rue, chief justice Lecture on the Study of Arabic and of the Beit Din of Los Angeles, who is working with Hebrew (1860) and a lecture on ‘The the Centre on the toPic of the Agunah problem. Talmud’ in Essays and Addresses by There are currently 14 doctoral students in the area Professors and Lecturers of the Owens of Jewish Studies.x College (1873). He was a frequent contributor of essays and translations The Centre is largely reliant on external funding for relating to various aspects of halakhah to many of its research Projects; in the year 2013-14 it the journal Hebrew Review and Magazine managed c.£930,000 in grants, excluding RCUK of Rabbinical Literature which was postdoctoral fellowships. The areas in which the published 1834-1836; among other Centre has research strength include Classical things he addressed such subjects as Judaism, Medieval Judaism and Jewish/Non-Jewish ‘Morality of the Talmud’ (1834), which relations, Modern Jewish history, culture and was in large Part of a translation of literature, Modern Jewish/Non-Jewish relations, Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, and ‘On the Holocaust, Modern Israeli society, history and Administration of Justice in the Hebrew political thought, and Modern Jewish thought Commonweath’ (1836). Theodores was a (Britain, France, Germany, Israel). A selection of polemicist who was keen to use current externally-funded research Projects include scholarshiP to good social effect, Corpses of Mass Violence (in collaboration with publishing critiques of the blood libel in Ecole des Hautes Etudes des Sciences Sociales, the Jewish Press in the aftermath of the Paris; European Research Council, 2012-16); Damascus Affair, and attacking Darwin’s Jews (Leverhulme, 2013-15); Catalogue of suggestions in the mainstream Press that Codices, Scrolls, and Other Texts in Hebrew ScriPt Jews were not fit to sit in Parliament. As a in the University of Manchester Library key figure of the Manchester Reform (anonymous Jewish foundation, 2015-18); Synagogue, established in 1856, Translation of Abulafia’s Secrets of the Torah in the Theodores was instrumental in having Kabbalistic Library of Pico della Mirandola (British the Hungarian rabbi Solomon Schiller- Academy, 2014-15); Anti-Semitism and Szinessy apPointed as its first minister, Articulations of National Identity in Hungarian Film, and was a close associate of the German- 1931-44 (Leverhulme, 2012-15); Moses Gaster: American Reform rabbi Gustav Gottheil Eclectic Scholar (British Academy, 2013-16); (1827-1903). Reading the Bible in the Ottoman EmPire (Leverhulme Early Career FellowshiP, 2014-17); Conversion to Judaism in ContemPorary Poland conducted (anonymous Jewish Foundation, 2014- Simmons, who was rabbi 1878-1900, taught 15). Centre members edit or co-edit Journal of oriental languages.iv Two other important scholars Semitic Studies, Leo Baeck Institute Year Book, Studia resident in the city were the Sephardi hacham and Judaica monograPh series, and Melilah: Journal of Zionist leader Moses Gaster, much of whose Jewish Studies. collection of manuscriPts is now held the University BAJS Bulletin 2015 · 2 In terms of teaching, the Centre has tended to focus and Israel Studies, and a number of course units, on integrating Jewish Studies course options into a including undergraduate Modern Hebrew, were wide variety of degree Programmes in the withdrawn and/or Phased out. SuPPort for the humanities, such as religious studies, history and Manchester academics who argued in favour of Middle Eastern studies. For last year (2013-14), the continuing the Provision of undergraduate Hebrew total number of enrolments in around 20 language teaching was received from a wide variety undergraduate Jewish Studies classes was more of individuals, learned societies, and subject than 400, while the total number of enrolments in 5 associations, with the BAJS online Petition receiving masters-level classes was 26. over 1000 signatures from 45 countries within 10 days. It is therefore with great Pleasure that the With regard to outreach and wider engagement, the Centre can now rePort that management has agreed Centre offers two annual Public lecture series, recently that the credit-bearing undergraduate namely, the Sherman Lectures in Jewish Studies and teaching of Modern Hebrew at all levels will the Bogdanow Lectures in Holocaust Studies,xi and a continue (albeit in a reduced caPacity), on condition research seminar series oPen to the Public that for that it be Partly Paid for by external funding. As a the last three years has focused on Israel Studies. It result, among other things, the Centre is currently maintains close relations with the Manchester developing an innovative hybrid aPProach to Jewish Museum as a venue for academic talks and language learning that will facilitate the virtual as a Partner for collaborative doctoral studentshiPs