Middle Eas tern Languages Culture s NEWSLETTERand Vol. #3 The University of Texas at Austin Spring 2000 Message from the Chairman departmental mission is not fl r. participate in these events and share our with other departments, which took \,.-/only to teach the major languages excitement in learning with them. place and willtake place, are described and literatures of the Middle East, but The major program scheduled for in the following pages. also to transmit the rich cultural heri- this spring semester is a two-day Sym- Belore closing, I should like to tage of the peoples of the Middle East. posium examining the interplay of Ju- note with gratification the To help fulfill this newly expanded fo- daism and Islam scheduled for March 8 establishment of a new undergraduate cus, we have taken several steps: We and 9. In addition to the faculty from our major in Jewish Studies that will go have introduced many new courses department, Nina Berman (UT, Ger- into effect September 1, 2000. This dealing with the cultures of the Middle manic Studies); Shifra Epstein (formaly undergraduate Jewish Studies major, East and have sponsored programs with UT Folklore); Tamar Rudavsky which is a college-wide, interdisciplinary designed to explore its heritage. (Ohio State University); John Willis major with a faculþ of more than As a further objective, we seek to (Princeton University); Reuven Firestone twenty five scholars, will teach more establish increasing contact our with (Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles, than fifty courses and will be one of the sister departments across the College California); Joseph Ginat (University of most important such programs in the to cosponsor programs with them, and Oldahoma); Carel Bertram (UT, Cenler U.S. by inviting professors in those depart- for Middle Eastern Studies) and Pamela I should also liketo notethe further ments to offer courses with Middle East Sezgin (Georgia Mountains History Mu- development of the existing Islamic content. seum, Gainesville, Georgia). Studies Program and our exploration However, beyond these efforts to Additional programs, sponsored of the possibility of adding an MA provide first rate training to our under- solely by our depariment or cosponsored degree to this program. graduates and reach out to faculþ in Harold Liebowitz other departments, we also wish to reach out to the community at large and share our excitement with the language, literature, and cultures of the Middle East. We no longer live in an age when we could or should isolate ourselves in the ivory tower of academia. The Austin public is sophisticated and well- educated. We wish to share what we know and engage in an enriching dia- logue with this communi!. LiberalArts is after all life enhanc- ing. Our imagination can soar as we engage in study of the art and architec- ture, music and dance, religious and secular literature of the areas. For the reasons given above, we have sched- uled many activities for the Spring se- mester, which provide insight into the exhilarating world of the Middle East to which the broader communitgr is wel- come. We inviie the general public to Harold Liebowitz, openingthe Worlshop on the Teaching of Islamic and Jewish Sürdies Judaism and Islam: Cenfer Auditorium 4.252. This pro- Jewish Studies Major Cross Currents gram is co-sponsored by the College of LiberalArts, College of Fine Arts, the he approved major, which will re place the existing Two Track Con- conference on March 8 and 9 Philosophy Department, Women's Sh-rd- Tnn is inclu- I entitled "Judaism and Islam: Cross- ies, Texas Cowboys and Texas Hillel. centration in Jewish Studies, an Currents" will consist of four panels (See schedule on back page.) sive, college-wlde field of study that will designed to focus on cultural, religious focus on the broadbased Jewish experi- and intellectual values shared by two of ence from the Biblical period until the the worlds great religions. The partici- present. Geographically, it will cover pants include faculty from within the the Middle East, Europe, Asia, North College of Liberal Arts and scholars Africa and the Western Hemisphere. lt from elsewhere in the U.S. and Israel. will cut across disciplines such as his- On the evening of March B we will tory, sociology, anthropology, religion, present a concert, Jewish and Islamic the visual arts, music, literature and Musical Traditions at 8:00 to 9:30 in folklore. Thus, as opposed to the He- the Texas Union Showroom. The first brew Studies Program, which focuses part will include soloists who will sing on the Hebrew language and texts writ- Yiddish, Ladino and Turkish songs. Fol- ten in Hebrew, the new major is far lowing the intermission, the Middle East- broader in scope. ern Ensemble will play a rendition of We seek through the major to im- Middle Eastern music. part a sense of the complex patterns of The department is most pleased to continuity and change, adaptability to open these programs to the broad com- changing political conditions, the inter- munity for two reasons: 1) it is a means play of geographically dispersed Jewish of celebrating the development of Is- communities, the dualiþ of inward and lamic Studies as a major component of outward looking perspectives, and the our department and a means of draw- richness of an age-old, yet continually ing attention to the beginning of a full- self-renewing culture. The areas of study fledged undergraduate Jewish Studies will include a reperloire of more than major to be housed in the department fifty courses distributed over the follow- beginning September 7, 2000. February 8 ing topics: Jewish culture; Jewish life; 2) From all that one reads in the Steinfeld Lectt I Israeli society and culture; fine arts; press, there is nothing but strife be- Jewish literature; Biblical studies; and hveen these two world religions. How- f\ n Februarv 8 Professor Zvi Holocaust studies. program ever, a deeper look at various aspects Lrl Stninfnld, foímer Chair of the Tal- The will include a major (12 of Jewish and Islamic cultural life shows mud department at Bar llan University, (24 semesier hours) and a minor a significant degree of intersection and Israel, andEditorof Sidrc, aJournal for semester hours) and a Jewish Studies crosscurrents, which enriched both re- the Study of Rabbinic Lìterature and Honor Program. Courses included for ligions. Not to deny a history of strife, Talmudic Studies. gave a lecture in the the fall 2000 are Introduction to Jewish Ihere were many periods of mutual Harry Ran.oin Center Auditorium en- Culture and History I; European Juda- enrichment. Perhaps a growing aware- titled "Jewish-Gentile relations in Rab- ism: Past and Present; Hitler, the Holo- ness of the shared cultural elements binic Literature. " Steinfeld, one of the caust and Memory: 1933 to the Present; may encourage a greater spirit of un- leading authcrities in modern Talmudic Modern Jewish Prose and Poetry; Spain derstanding and cooperation. Indeed, studies, shared his vast knowledge of in 7492; Culture in Medieval Spain; we are pleased that in our department early Rabbinic literature with an enthu- and Jewish Women's Writings. we encourage our Islamic Studies and siastic audience. Jewish Studies:tudents to become more The program was sponsored by aware of one another's rich cultural MELC and co-sponsored by the Audre heritage. and Bernard Rapoport Regents Chair We arelherefore delighted to invite of Jewish Studies, the Gale Chair of the generalpublic to attend this seminal Judaic Studies, and the Texas Hillel. event. We wish to thank Professor Robert Both day sessions will take place King and Professor Seth Wolitz, the from 9:30 a.m. - 12 :00 noon and from occupants of these Chairs for their help 1:30 p.m. - 4:00 in the Harry Ransom in making this lecture possible. Undergraduate Shrdent State University on October 75, 7999, MELC Faculty Lectures News sponsored by the Department of Near and Presentations Eastern and Asian Studies in conjunction por the flrst time, the Arabic program with the American Association of Teach- man Attieh hasbeen invited byThe I has six undergraduate majors: ers of Arabic, for his pioneering work and ¿\ I \ University of Washington to give a Jonathan Addison, Jennifer Hollis, David longtime service in the field of teaching presention in a workshop to be held in Kimberly, Christopher Micklethwait, Arabic. The reception was held during a Seattle on April 7 and2,2000 entitled Natasha Omene, and Christoper Young. Symposium entitled "Bridging Past, "Developing Goals for Cultural Profi- Despite the difficulty of Arabic, lhey are Present, and Future: Arabic as a Foreign ciency in Arabic." enjoying the challenge of leaming a sig- Language in the New Millennium." Zilla Goodman presented a confer- nificant nonlatin-based language. Chris- Esther Raizen won a Liberal Arts In- ence paper entitled "The Jewish topher Michlethwait, who willbe gradu- structional Technology Award for devel- Diaspora: Between Exile and Disper- ating this Spring semester, began his oping web-based materials for the UT sion." February 11, 2000, at World Arabic Studies in the fall of 1996. He also Biblical Hebrew language sequence. Her 2000, sponsored by The World History attended two intensive summer pro- Modern Hebrew Project web site won a Association and the National Council for grams, one in Morocco, the Texas- Jewish Agency for Israel Top Ten Award Geography Education Meknes Intensive Summer Program, and in the fall of 1999. MichaelHillmann presented a slide the other in Lebanon, in 7997 and 1998 lecture called "An Aesthetics respectiveþ. of Persian Carpets' at the Center for Middle Eastem Sarah Radin who spent her fall se- Studies at the University of Arizona on mester in Israel, studying at the Hebrew January 27, 2000." Professor Hillmann University, extended her stay to the MELC Faculty Grants will present a paper on "Aspects of spring.