Jewish lecture series promises eclectic fare

Around the world and through time, the 1998 Jewish Heritage Lecture Series will explore the Jewish experience from a variety of perspectives.

According to David Sorkin, professor of history and director of UW–Madison’s Jewish Studies Center, the 1998 lectures will address some key issues in modern Jewish studies.

“The subjects range from the American Jewish experience to Israeli literature to anti-Semitism to the famous Rabbi Leo Baeck,” an advocate for Jews during the Nazi regime and expositor of the philosophical foundations of Judaism, Sorkin says.

The series will begin April 6 with the Kutler Lectureship in honor of Stanley I. Kutler, E.G. Fox Professor of American Institutions emeritus, and Sandra Kutler. This year, Debra Dash Moore, professor of religion at Vassar College, will consider “War and Identity: The Story of Jewish GIs in World War II.”

Moore will give a second lecture April 8, “Constructing American Jewish Women: The Making of an Encyclopedia.” Moore is the co-editor of Jewish Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia, published last year.

The lectures will continue April 13 with a discussion of “Anti-Semitism in Contemporary Japan.” Speaking will be David G. Goodman, professor of Japanese literature at the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign. His books include Jews in the Japanese Mind: The History and Uses of a Cultural Stereotype (1995). In addition, he has written four books in Japanese as well as three books in English dealing with Japanese culture.

Alan Mintz, Braun Professor of Modern Hebrew Literature at Brandeis University will deliver the Minkoff Lecture April 22, “The New Decentralized Zionist Narrative in Israeli Literature.” Mintz established and co-edits PROOFTEXTS: A Journal of Jewish Literary History. He also is the author of several books.

The Paul J. Schrag Lectureship will conclude the series May 5 with “The Thought of Rabbi Leo Baeck: A Religious Philosophy for a Difficult Time,” by Michael Meyer, Adolph S. Ochs Professor of Jewish History at Hebrew Union College. Meyer, two-time winner of the National Jewish Book Award, currently is editing a four-volume study of modern German-Jewish history. He will speak in Grainger Hall; all other lectures will take place in the Memorial Union (check Today in the Union for rooms).

All lectures are free, open to the public and will begin at 7:30 p.m. For more information, contact Anita Lightfoot, (608) 265-4763.