35th Annual Samuel & Althea Stroum Lectures in Jewish Studies 2010

 

NEW FORMAT THIS YEAR
 

Agnon's Moonstruck Lovers: The Song of Songs in Israeli Culture


     
Professor Ilana Pardes, Hebrew University, Jerusalem

 

Sunday, April 25, 2010: 
'Upon the Handles of the Lock': Agnon, Balak and the Israeli Bible
kosher dessert reception follows first lecture
 

Tuesday, April 27, 2010:
Agnon's Ethnographies of Love and the Quest for the Ultimate Song

Both lectures begin at 7:30 p.m.
Kane Hall, room 210
Lectures are free and open to the public.

Listen to the lectures

About the 2010 lectures:

Secular Zionism embraced the Song of Songs with unparalleled passion. From the 1920s on, the biblical love poem appeared in numerous forms in diverse cultural realms. This series of lectures sets out to explore the response of Israel's Nobel laureate S. Y. Agnon to the privileged position of the Song in Israeli culture. Chief among Agnon's observations is the recognition that, as surprising as it may first seem, allegory has not disappeared from the Israeli exegetical scene. New national allegories, shaped via the Song, emerge with the rise of Zionism, providing modern forms of collective love, primarily the love between the community and the Land. With characteristic virtuosity, Agnon juxtaposes old allegories with new Zionist allegories, mocking normative distinctions between the sacred and the secular.

About the 2010 lecturer:

Ilana Pardes is Professor of Comparative Literature at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, where she has been teaching since 1992. Her work has focused on the nexus of Bible, literature, and culture as well as on questions of aesthetics and hermeneutics. She is the author of “Countertraditions in the Bible: A Feminist Approach,” “The Biography of Ancient Israel: National Narratives in the Bible,” “Melville's Bibles;” and Co-editor of “New Perspectives on Freud's Moses and Monotheism.” Her current research focuses on the circulation of the Song of Songs in Israeli and American cultures.

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To request disability accommodation, contact the Disability Services Office at least ten days in advance: 206.543.6450 voice / 206.543.6452 TTY / 206.685.7264 FAX/ dso@u.washington.edu.

For parking information, please call 206.685.1553.
 
For more information about the series contact us at 206.543.0138; jewishst@uw.edu.

Readings and Resources

Who is Agnon?
http://www.jewishideasdaily.com/content/module/2010/2/25/main-feature/1/agnon

 

Prof. Pardes will discuss Agnon's story of "Edo and Enam."

Read the story in English...

Read the story in Hebrew...


Glossary of terms used in the lectures

Exegesis:  an explanation or critical interpretation of a text
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exegesis

Hermeneutic:  the study of the methodological principles of interpretation (as of the Bible)
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hermeneutic

Stroum JSP faculty member Prof. Michael Rosenthal (Philosophy) answers the question…

What do you find striking about Prof. Ilana Pardes, the 2010 Stroum Lecturer, and her work?

Ilana Pardes is a well-respected, established scholar in the field of comparative literature.

The common theme in her work is the Bible. Utilizing contemporary scholarship and literary analysis she teaches us how to read the Bible and how it can affect our thinking and reading of the text today. In each of her projects she utilizes a different lens, such as feminist or psychoanalytical theories, to delve into the complex counter-narratives in the Bible. Her mastering of a broad range of scholarly fields to further her research is remarkable.

I’m currently reading her book Melville’s Bibles, which is a fascinating investigation of how the Bible as a text influenced Herman Melville’s writing of Moby Dick. While I’m not a comparative literature or biblical scholar, I’ve found the book to be completely engaging.

I find Prof. Pardes to be a great reader of texts and an excellent writer, who uses clear language without the use of jargon. Her projects are ambitious yet very focused. She’s clearly not afraid to take risks. Prof. Pardes is in an incredibly productive and creative period right now.

Prof. Pardes' Itinerary at the University of Washington

Sunday, April 25: First lecture & Reception (free and open to the public)
7:30 p.m.; 210 Kane Hall; registration requested  Click here to register.

Monday, April 26: Song of Songs course lecture at UW (open to students enrolled in the course only)

Tuesday, April 27: Second lecture (free and open to the public)
7:30 p.m.; 210 Kane Hall; registration requested Click here to register.

Wednesday, April 28: Lunch & Discussion with Jewish Studies Faculty (open to faculty only)

Thursday, April 29: New this year instead of the third lecture...
"Learn-In": An intimate learning opportunity with the Stroum Lecturer
7:30 p.m.; UW Club conference room, UW Seattle Campus; Free
Registration required: jewishst@uw.edu; 206-543-0138
Space is limited: open to community educators, UW faculty, UW students, and members of the community seeking a more scholarly exploration of the topic

Freud, Zipporah, and the Bridegroom of Blood: National Ambivalence in the Bible
Pardes will explore Freud's reading of the story of "The Bridegroom of Blood" (Exodus 4:24-26) in Moses and Monotheism. She will highlight Freud's vital contribution to the understanding of the hidden psychical phenomena which shape the history and character of the nation behind the scenes. Special attention will be given to Zipporah's role as deliverer and to the conflicting representations of femininity in Exodus.

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The Samuel & Althea Stroum Jewish Studies Program
University of Washington
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►jewishst@uw.edu