Location
Pears Institute, Birkbeck, University of London
Pears Institute for the study of Antisemitism, Birkbeck, University of London
CIRCUMCISION: AN INDEX OF DIFFERENCE AND/OR THE HEALTH EXCEPTION Professor Sander Gilman, Institute of the Liberal Arts, Emory University
Tuesday 8 March 2016, 6.30 – 8.00pm
Ritual practice defines religion, not least the ancient practice of infant male circumcision undertaken by Jews and others. In the United States it has become widely practised for for “health” rather than for “religious” reasons. In this lecture Professor Gilman asks what happens when religion and medicine compete or are allied; what happens when these two aspects of the public sphere overlap?
Free event open to all. For further information and registration visit: http://www.pearsinstitute.bbk.ac.uk/events/events-calendar/sander-gilman/
POGROM: KISHINEV 1903 AND THE TILT OF HISTORY Professor Steven Zipperstein, Stanford University
Monday 21 March, 6.30 – 8.00pm
The Kishinev pogrom of 1903 was the first event in Russian Jewish life to receive international attention. The riot that left 49 dead in an obscure border town dominated the headlines of the western press for weeks. In this lecture, based on new path-breaking research, Professor Zipperstein asks: why did the Kishinev pogrom have this impact, and why did it provide a prism through which so much of the contemporary Jewish experience would be seen? Free event open to all. For further information and registration visit: