This is just a quick reminder that this Monday (November 24, 2014) we resume our series of lectures for young researchers, Cross-Cultural Encounters, Traumatic Affect and Paths of Remembrance. Our first invited speaker this fall semester is Claudiu Stoian, from the Jewish Studies department, who will discuss the functional dynamics of Jewish memory for the writing of history, on November 24, 2014, from 6 p.m., in Room 4. You can find below a brief abstract of the lecture as well as Claudiu’s bio: Claudiu Stoian (University of Bucharest), Memory and History in the Hebrew Bible: On the Functional Dynamics of Jewish Memory for the Writing of History Abstract: The issue of memory is one of major importance in the Hebrew Bible. Although we are aware that memory is among the most fragile and capricious of our faculties, the Hebrew Bible seems to have no hesitation in commanding memory. For the people of Israel, the act of remembering is not just a necessity, but a demand from God. Altogether, the verb zakhar (to remember) appears in the Bible more than one hundred and fifty times, usually with either Israel or God as the subject, for memory is incumbent upon both. The verb is complemented by its obverse—forgetting. As Israel is urged to remember, it is commanded not to forget. Both imperatives have resounded with enduring effect among the Jews from biblical times to the present days. Using such ideas as points of departure, my presentation will try to answer the following core questions: What were/are the Jews to remember, and by what means? What was/is the functional dynamics of Jewish memory, and how, if at all, is the command to remember related to the writing of history? Bio: Claudiu Stoian is an Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies within the School of Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Bucharest. He holds a PhD in History from the University of Bucharest (2011) and is specialized in ancient Jewish History and Archaeology. He has received several research grants at Tel Aviv University and the American School of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem and has taken part in archaeological excavations in Israel (Hazor and Apollonia Arsuf). For further details about our lecture series, see americanstudies.ro/?article=25
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 10:56:21 +0000