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Events

Creating and Challenging Utopia: new perspectives in Jewish history

Hosted by the LSE Literary Festival

Thai Theatre, New Academic Building,

Speakers

Professor Michael Berkowitz

Professor Michael Berkowitz

Professor David De Vries

Professor David De Vries

Dr Sharman Kadish

Dr Sharman Kadish

Chair

Dr Joanna Newman

A discussion in honour and memory of historian Professor David Cesarani begins with reflections about his life. In the spirit of David's utopian ideals juxtaposed to relations among Jews, and between non-Jews and Jews in modern times, we introduce new books by our panel.

Michael Berkowitz is Professor of Modern Jewish History at University College London and author of Jews and Photography in Britain. His previous books include The Crime of My Very Existence:  Nazism and the Myth of Jewish CriminalityThe Jewish Self-ImageWestern Jewry and the Zionist Project, 1914-1933; and Zionist Culture and West European Jewry before the First World War.  His research on photography has been supported by the Center for Creative Photography (Tucson), the Ransom Center (Austin), the University of London, the Getty Research Institute (Los Angeles), and the British Society for the History of Science.

David De Vries is a professor at Tel Aviv University and author most recently of Strike Action and Nation-building. His other works include Diamonds and war: state, capital, and labor in British-ruled Palestine, and he was a contributor to Haifa before and after 1948:  narratives of a mixed city.

Sharman Kadish is Director of Jewish Heritage UK. She has nearly 30 years experience of working in the Heritage Sector, both in the voluntary sector and in private practice. She has taught at the Universities of London and Manchester and is author of a number of books on Anglo-Jewish history and heritage, including companion architectural guides Jewish Heritage in England and Jewish Heritage in Gibraltar (2007) Her recent book The Synagogues of Britain and Ireland: An Architectural and Social History was shortlisted for the American Society of Historians of British Art Prize in 2013. A new edition her guidebook  Jewish Heritage in Britian and Ireland was published on 2015 by Historic England.

Joanna Newman is Vice Principal of Kings College London.

This event forms part of the LSE Space for Thought Literary Festival 2016, taking place from Monday 22 - Saturday 27 February 2016, with the theme 'Utopias'.

Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSELitFest

Podcast

A podcast of this event is available to download from Creating and Challenging Utopia:  new perspectives in Jewish history

Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.