The Turn of the 1990s and its Impact upon the Study of Jewish Cultures and Arts (23.-24.5.2023)

The devastating war raging in Ukraine affects our consciousness daily and poses unanswered questions. Are we once again losing the ability to move freely between the “West” and the “East”, to view the Jewish past and present in Europe in its full complexity and interconnectivity? Precisely such uncertainty characterizing our current times presents an opportune moment for reflection on past decades. In this spirit, the colloquium proposes to reflect upon and examine changes that happened from the 1990s on in the field of Jewish studies.

The fall of the Berlin Wall and with it of the communist societies, the unification of Europe, the globalization of the Holocaust, and other events of this era shape our research, knowledge and interpretation. Along with the rise of the digital age, identity politics, and postmodern questions concerning race, gender and ethnicity, academic fields focusing on Jewish cultures and arts experienced a significant turn.

Organizers: Olaf Terpitz and Mirjam Rajner