Feb 19, 2015

The 2015 Bampton Lectures in America will be given by Talmudic scholar Daniel Boyarin, speaking on: A Genealogy for Judaism. In this series of lectures, Daniel Boyarin proposes that scholarship ought to resist using the term “Judaism” with reference to the pre-modern period. As has been argued by several scholars already, there is no “native” term with this meaning in antiquity or the Middle Ages. There is, moreover, no evidence that Jews divided off one category of their experience and practice and named it their religion. It is, therefore, a falsification of the evidence to pick out an entity and name it “Judaism.” A theoretical argument against using modern categories to analyze ancient realities will be advanced as well.

Monday, March 23
Was There Judaism in Pre-modernity?: The Terms of the Debate

Wednesday, March 25
Can a Word Exist if No one Says it or Writes it?

Monday, March 30
What do Jews Talk About When They Don’t Talk About Judaism? 

Wednesday, April 1
Can a Concept Exist Without a Word?

 

Barnard Hall, Julius S. Held Lecture Hall Room 304

3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027 United States