Preaching on the Jews, for the Jews and by the Jews

Institutum Romanum Finlandiae and the Centro Romano di studi
sull'Ebraismo are jointly organising a conference on the theme:

Preaching on the Jews, for the Jews and by the Jews


The conference will take place on 11 - 12 February 2011. The
conference venue will be The Finnish Roman Institute Villa Lante
(Passeggiata del Gianicolo 10, 00165 Roma, Italia). For further
information about Villa Lante and the organisers, see

http://www.irfrome.org/

(Institutum Romanum Finlandiae)

and

http://web.uniroma2.it/modules.php?name=Content§ion_parent=3074

(Centro Romano di studi sull'Ebraismo)


We are now inviting those who would like to be present at this event
and give a paper to send us the title of their paper and the short
abstract (no more than 300 words) to the address below. The proposals
should be sent to the organisers no later than the 31 May 2010. The
organizers will evaluate paper proposals before the end of July and
send invitations to the speakers.

The aim of the conference is to study preaching as a means of
communication by which the attitudes and stereotypes concerning the
Jews were disseminated to the population at large, or the Jews were
converted. Here the emphasis should be on the sermon and preaching as
a means to convey information and attitudes. Especially well come
would be papers dealing with the possible reactions of the audiences
and in general, the reception to the preaching on and for the Jews.

In addition to the sermons on the Jews or for the Jews, we would also
love to see papers on the preaching by the Jews themselves. How did
they try to repel the attacks of the Christian missionary preachers,
or the hostile attitudes disseminated by the preaching to the general
population. In what extent the Jewish sermons were meant to force
their own religious and cultural identity under the pressures
constituted by the Christian majority. The time period relevant for
this symposium is between antiquity and early modern period (i.e.
from the first to the late sixteenth century).

We understand the words preaching and sermon in the widest possible
meaning. Therefore, Papers dealing with not only preaching and
sermons but also with preaching materials, chronicles reporting
preaching activities, more informal religious education outside the
boundaries of the pulpit, etc. etc. are welcome.

Papers can be given in any major European language (English, French,
German, Spanish, Italian). However, the abstracts and paper proposals
should be provided in English.

Proposals should include title of the paper, max. 300 word long
abstract and the academic position and contact information of the
speaker. They can be sent to the following address:

Jussi Hanska
Institutum Romanum Finlandiae
Passeggiata del Gianico 10
00165 Roma
Italia

or (preferably) via e-mail to:

hanska@irfrome.org