Lecture series follows Jewish experience

The 2003 Jewish Heritage Lecture series will focus on the Jewish experience around the world and across the centuries.

Drawing from subjects such as the creation of public art, anti-Semitism in the European Union and “Divine Sarah” Bernhardt, the lectures have the potential to bring diverse audiences together, according to Steve Nadler, director of the Mosse-Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies, which sponsors the series.

The series begins Wednesday, Oct. 22, with a discussion about Memory Park in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photographer Marcelo Brodsky will speak about how and why the park was created to commemorate those missing and murdered under state terrorism during the “dirty war” of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

All lectures start at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union (check Today in the Union for exact location). Upcoming lectures are:

• “The Enlightenment and the Modern Origins of Orthodoxy,” Monday, Oct. 27, by Edward Breuer, associate professor of Jewish studies, Loyola University.
• “How Far Can Jews Wander? The Ironies of Modern Identity,” Monday, Nov. 3, and “Oh, Sarah Bernhardt: The French Jewish Actress and Her American Legacy,” Tuesday, Nov. 4, by Susan Glenn, professor of history and Jewish studies, Washington State University.
• “”Old’ and “New’ Anti-Semitism in the European Union? Some Aspects of the Discursive Construction of European Identities,” Tuesday, Nov. 18, by Ruth Wodak, professor of linguistics, University of Vienna.

In addition to the lectures, Martina Kudlacek’s film, “In the Mirror of Maya Deren,” will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, in 4070 Vilas Hall.

Other sponsors are the Global Studies Program and the University Lectures Committee. Information: Anita Lightfoot, 265-4763, allightf@wiscmail.wisc.edu.