Antisemitism in Theory and Practice: Legacies in Cultural and Political Thought


London, 28 and 29 April 2008, at the Wiener Library

An international conference organised by the LBI London and the Wiener Library as a contribution to the European Network for Research into Historical and Current Antisemitism

The conference will look at theories of antisemitism and antisemitic legacies in modern cultural and political theories. We will assess the state of the art in modern theories of antisemitism and examine problematic legacies that partly fostered these theories; we will also discuss praxis oriented approaches of dealing with antisemitism in a number of European countries.

Monday, April 28

10.00am

Opening: Prof. Raphael Gross (LBI London / Fritz Bauer Institut)/ Ben Barkow (Wiener Library)

10.30-12.00 noon

Panel 1: Frankfurt School & Cultural Studies
Chair: Prof. Michael Wildt (University of Hamburg); lectures: Prof. Anson Rabinbach (Princeton), The Legacy of the Frankfurt Schools' Theory of Antisemitism after 1944 / Dr Birgit Erdle (London), The Legacy of Hate in Current Cultural Theory; commentary Prof. Leonard Olschner (Queen Mary, University of London)

1.30-3.00pm

Panel 2: Country Reports: Germany, Poland
Chair: Dr Daniel Wildmann (LBI London); lectures: Dr Juliane Wetzel (Center for Research on Antisemitism, TU Berlin), Teaching on Today's Antisemitism in Germany: Challenges and Resistance, Dr Michal Bilewicz (University of Warsaw), Fighting Antisemitism in the Polish Classroom: Methods and their Effectiveness; commentary Antony Lerman (JPR, London)

3.30-5.00pm

Panel 3: History & Sociology
Chair: Dr Klaus Holz (Evangelisches Studienwerk, Villigst); lectures: Prof. Shulamit Volkov (Tel Aviv University), Controversies over Antisemitism: Old and New / Dr Jan Weyand (University of Erlangen-Nürnberg), A Gap Between Social Theory and Theory of Antisemitism; commentary Prof Werner Bergmann (Center for Research on Antisemitism, TU Berlin)

Tuesday, April 29

9.00-10.30am

Panel 4: Theology & Philosophy
Chair: Prof Christian Wiese (University of Sussex); lectures: Dr Tanja Hetzer (Berlin), Antisemitism and "God's Will": The Political Theology of Paul Althaus / Dr Christopher Clark (St. Catharine's College, Cambridge); commentary Katharina von Kellenbach (St. Mary's College, Maryland)

11.00-12.30pm

Panel 5: Country Reports: Russia, Hungary
Chair: Prof. Andras Kovacs (CEU, Budapest); lectures: Dr Monika Kovacs (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest), Cultural, Anti-Bias and Holocaust Education - Different Approaches in Hungary / Dr Alexander Verkhovsky (Sova Centre, Moscow), Antisemitism in Putin's Russia; commentary Dr Stella Rock (University of Sussex)

2.00-3.30pm

Panel 6: Political Theory, Social Theory & Psychoanalysis
Chair: Prof Andreas Gestrich (GHI, London); lectures: Prof. Roger Griffin (Oxford Brookes University), Differentialist Racism and Aryo-Islamist Holocaust Denial: Two Case Studies in Modernist Antisemitism / Dr Celine Surprenant (University of Sussex), Moses and Monotheism: The Recent Reception of Freud's Book on Antisemitism; commentary DrBrian Klug (St. Benet's Hall, Oxford)

4.00-5.30pm

Panel 7: Country Reports: France, UK
Chair: Prof Julian Jackson (Queen Mary, University of London); lectures: Jean-Yves Camus (IRIS, Paris), (Not so) New Judeophobia and Old Stereotypes: Antisemitism in France After 2000 / Mike Whine (London), Antisemitism in Britain - a facts-based analysis; commentary Philip Spencer (Kingston University)

5.30-6.00pm

Closing remarks: Prof. Peter Pulzer (LBI London)

Admission is free, but as space is limited places must be reserved by contacting Neil Huckstepp: email NHuckstepp@wienerlibrary.co.uk or phone 020 7636 7247.