Internationale Konferenz: Jews and Modernity: Beyond the Nation

Dear Sir/Madam You are invited to attend an international conference on "Jews and Modernity: Beyond the Nation," to be held at the Centrum Judaicum and the Brandenburger Akademie der Wissenschaften on 2 and 3 May 2006. The conference approaches the history of modern European Jewry in fresh and exciting ways, moving beyond the national paradigm common in Jewish historiography to engage the complex relationships between transnational and local Jewish identities. In an era where the nation-state has come under increasing critique as a vehicle of collective human organization, the Jews' longstanding cosmopolitan qualities deserve careful consideration, as do their integration into the very heart of the sub-national communities that, for many decades or even centuries, they called home. The conference brings together some twenty speakers; each session will feature two or three brief papers with related themes and then allow time for discussion and debate. As you can see from the attached program, the first day of the conference is devoted to the theme of transnationality, while sub-nationality will be treated on the second day. The sessions on the first day wil be held at the Centrum Judaicum; on the second we meet at the Brandenburger Akademie der Wissenschaften. At 6:00 p.m. on May 2 the conference will feature its keynote address, to be delivered by Professor Dan Diner, Director of the Simon Dubnow Institute of the University of Leipzig, on "The Jews, the 'Nation,' and Beyond: On Concepts, Experiences and Polemics." You are welcome to attend this public event and the following reception, both of which will be held in the Centrum Judaicum. This conference represents a collaborative venture between the German Historical Institute in Washington D.C., the University of Toronto, the Simon Dubnow Institute of the University of Leipzig, and the University of Southampton. We thank these institutions for their generosity and initiative. Registration for the daytime sessions is required, as seating is limited. Please respond to gair.outhwaite@cuc- berlin.org. We very much hope you will be able to attend and look forward to your presence. For the organizers: Derek Penslar Zacks Professor of History and Director of the Jewish Studies Program, University of Toronto