Conferences and Symposia

In addition to the annual Klutznick-Harris Symposium in Jewish Studies, which we present in collaboration with Creighton University, the Harris Center organizes occasional conferences, symposia, and roundtables on timely themes in Jewish Studies. Information on past conferences can be found below. For upcoming events, please see our Events Calendar.

Forgotten Genocides: New Perspectives on a Less Known HistoryApril 10, 2013

An interdisciplinary symposium to foster discussion and dialogue regarding new perspectives of some of the lesser known genocides and mass atrocities of the 20th century

Participants:

• David Forsythe (U Nebraska-Lincoln), "The Promise of ‘Never Again’ and the Problem of Agency Costs in the Nation State System"

• Hannibal Travis (Florida International U), "Not Yet Forgotten: Genocide in Darfur and Sudan's Peripheral States"

The Klutznick-Harris Symposium in Jewish Studies

Since 2001, the Harris Center has co-sponsored an annual international conference with the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at Creighton University, Omaha. Each year’s theme is different, attracting scholars from a wide range of disciplines and from countries around the world.

Papers based on the conference presentations are gathered in an annual edited volume in the series “Studies in Jewish Civilization,” published by Purdue University Press.

Jews at the Margins: Identity, Boundaries, BelongingOctober 30, 2012

An international symposium featuring social scientists working on inclusion and exclusion in the Jewish world.

Participants:

• Netanel Fisher (Hebrew U), "Who is a Jew in Israel?"

• Misha Klein (U of Oklahoma), "'Poor People Can't Afford to Keep Kosher': A View from the Margins of the Brazilian Jewish Community"

Fundamentalism: Perspectives on a Contested HistoryMarch 7-8, 2012

An interdisciplinary symposium examining the history and character of fundamentalist religious movements today.

Participants:

• David Harrington Watt (Temple U), “The Origins of Fundamentalism”
March 7, 4 PM

• Lynda Clarke (Concordia U), “Fundamentalism and Shii Islam”
March 8, 2 PM

Art, Memory, and Law
April 23, 2009

A documentary screening and panel discussion on Holocaust art restitution.

The evening began with a public screening of "Adele’s Wish", a documentary film by Canadian independent filmmaker Terrence Turner. The documentary concerns the disputes and litigation around five paintings by world-renowned Austrian artist, Gustav Klimt, that were stolen from a Viennese Jewish family during the Nazi regime in Austria.

Returning to Babel: Jewish Latin American experiences and representationsApril 19-20, 2009

An international conference on Judeo-Latin American Literature and Culture. Speakers reexamined prevalent paradigms in the area of Latin American Jewish studies from an interdisciplinary standpoint, comprising literature, culture, history, cinematography and visual arts.

Participants:

Nelson Vieira (Brown), “Without Identity: The Jewish Ethical Transcendence of Being for the Other in Writings by Brazil’s Clarice Lispector”

•Carolina Rocha (Southern Illinois U), “Cinematic Jewish Self-Representations in Contemporary Argentine and Brazilian Films”

Coming to Terms with the Past in West Germany:
The 1960'sApril 19-21, 2001

An international conference organized by the German Historical Institute, Washington, D.C., and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Conveners: Philipp Gassert (Heidelberg) and Alan Steinweis (University of Nebraska)

Participants:
Pertti Ahonen (University of Sheffield)
Lloyd Ambrosius (University of Nebraska)

Jerusalem and the Politics of Identity
April 13, 2001

A round-table discussion of University of Nebraska faculty on the politics of identity in Israel, particularly in Jerusalem, past and present.

Participants:

• Robert Hitchcock, Professor of Anthropology and Director, Human Rights Initiative

•Dave Forsythe, Charles Mach Distinguished Professor of Political Science

Forgotten GenocidesReturning to BabelArt, Memory, and LawJews at the Margins