WiSe 2025/26 Veranstaltungskalender
Online Meeting, Sephardic Perspectives Reading Group: Prof. Harm den Boer
Ort: Online via Zoom
Forschungskolloquium, Gebrochene Traditionen, Gastvortrag: Prof.Dr.Irmela von der Lühe
Als literarische Reflexion auf Alltagsphänomene im Italien Mussolinis, als novellistische Vision und Warnung vor der erstarkenden NSDAP am Ende der Weimarer Republik und als narrative Adaption von zeitgenössischen Theorien zu Hypnose, Massenpsychologie, autoritärem Charakter und Unterwerfungsgeist hat man Thomas Manns „tragisches Reiseerlebnis“ – so der Untertitel von Mario und der Zauberer – gelesen. Der Vortrag möchte die autobiographischen, die diskurs- und kulturgeschichtlichen, vor allem aber die zeitgeschichtlichen Kontexte und Potentiale einer Novelle beleuchten, die nicht nur aus Anlass des Thomas Mann Gedenk-Jahres von einiger Brisanz ist; handelt sie doch sowohl von der Faszinationskraft eines „großen Mannes“ – auch wenn er ein zweifelhafter Künstler und Scharlatan ist; als auch von der fatalistischen Passivität und dem intellektuellen Voyeurismus seines Publikums.
Ort: Freie Universität Berlin Fabeckstr. 23-25 (Holzlaube) Raum 2.2051 14195 Berlin
Jahrestagung Purity of Blood Travelling Concepts and Local Practices in the Early Modern Iberian World
Organization: Peter Burschel (HAB, Göttingen University) and Sina Rauschenbach (Potsdam University, ZJS)
Ort: Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel Seminarraum Meißnerhaus
SAVE THE DATE: Selma Stern Lecture 2025: Aya Elyada (Jerusalem)
In honour of its namesake, the Selma Stern Centre for Jewish Studies Berlin-Brandenburg has launched the Selma Stern Lecture 2019, a series of lectures dedicated in particular to topics related to the development and advancement of Jewish studies – from the Haskalah to contemporary Jewish studies. For the Selma Stern Lecture 2025, the renowned professor of German and German-Jewish History Prof. Dr. Aya Elyada from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has been invited to give a lecture on ‘ The Afterlife of Yiddish in German-Jewish Culture: Diachronic Translation and the (Re)turn to the Past’ .
Ort: Freie Universität Berlin, tba
International Workshop: Beyond the Golden Age – Sephardic Amsterdam in the 18th Century
The history of the Sephardic Jews of Amsterdam has often been narrated through the prism of the city’s celebrated “Dutch Golden Age,” when the Sephardic community rose to prominence as a vibrant hub of religious, cultural, and economic life in the diaspora. These years of splendor have rightly received extensive scholarly attention, yet the story usually fades as Amsterdam’s centrality within the wider Sephardic world began to wane in the decades that followed. This workshop seeks to challenge this historiographical imbalance by turning the spotlight on a period too often overlooked: the eighteenth century. Far from representing a simple decline, these years witnessed significant developments that shaped the lived realities of Amsterdam’s Sephardim. By exploring this period in depth, we aim to open new perspectives on continuities, transformations, and the evolving identity of the community in a changing European landscape. The discussions will address a wide range of themes, including material culture, economic life, cultural production, the interplay between private and public spheres, and the complex relationships between Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews in Amsterdam. Bringing these elements into focus not only enriches our understanding of Amsterdam’s Jewish past but also sheds light on broader dynamics of early modern Jewish history. The workshop is organized by the Chair for Jewish Thought at the University of Potsdam, which has long been committed to the study of cultural forms across the Sephardic diaspora. By convening an international group of scholars, we hope to foster dialogue, stimulate new research, and contribute to a more nuanced appreciation of Amsterdam’s Sephardic community beyond the well-trodden narrative of the Golden Age.
Ort: University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 5, Room 1.08.0.56. Potsdam