Memory and Otherness. Jewish-Christian Relations in the Age of Reconciliation

Source: Lund University, Centre for Theology and Religious Studies

2 June 2023 10:00 to 18:15 conference

Inspired by Levinasian’s ethic of responsibility in encounters with the Other, the main idea of the symposium is to bring together scholars from the field of theology, religious studies, memory studies and Jewish studies to discuss various aspects of memory in relation to Otherness.

How does the memory affect our own identity and relations with the Other? How does it function in collective and individual memory? How does it translate into prejudice and politics? These are some of the questions that can be posed in relation to the main theme of the symposium.

Through scholarly debate, this academic venture aims at exploring new paths in the meeting between religious and cultural traditions, and in accommodating otherness in interreligious and intercultural encounters. The contributions will approach the questions related to memory and otherness in intergroup encounters from historical, textual and qualitative perspectives, which will enrich the discussion and the exchange of the ideas.

The Symposium will have a compact form and will include 4 key note lectures and one panel session. Among confirmed presenters are:

• Prof. Manuela Consonni (Pela and Adam Starkopf Chair in Holocaust Studies at the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, Director of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism at the Hebrew University).
• Dr. Mercédesz Czimbalmos (The Inez and Julius Polin Institute For Theological Research, Åbo Akademi),
• Prof. Michał Galas (the head of the Department of History of Judaism and Jewish Literatures, Director of the Marcell and Maria Roth Center for the Research on the History and Culture of Polish Jewry and Polish-Jewish Relations at the Institute of Jewish Studies of the Jagiellonian University),
• Prof. Šarūnas Liekis (Professor of Politics and Dean of the Faculty of Politics and Diplomacy at the Vytautas Magnus University).

Symposium: Memory and Otherness. Jewish-Christian Relations in the Age of Reconciliation