Racism, Antisemitism, Theory

The campus of Birkbeck University of London

The campus of Birkbeck University of London

On Monday, April 24, our colleagues at the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, in partnership with the Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, will be holding a conference at Birkbeck, University of London. The conference, entitled “Racism, Antisemitism, Theory,” will “[explore] the relationship between racism and antisemitism.”  The Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities organizes events with the express goals of “engaging with important public issues of our time through a series of open debates, lectures, seminars, and conferences.” The Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, which is based at Birkbeck, University of London, is one of the few centers dedicated to the study of antisemitism in in Europe. Their stated mission is to “promote understanding of antisemitism.”

The upcoming conference will include guest speakers from various U.S. and British universities, as well as lectures and discussions.

The full details and schedule of the conference can be found below.

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Racism, Antisemitism, Theory

Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities in partnership with the Pears Institute for the study of Antisemitism, Birkbeck, University of London

Speakers include:     Christine Achinger, University of Warwick; Avtar Brah, Birkbeck, University of London; Bryan Cheyette, University of Reading, Jack Jacobs, City University New York; Anoop Nayak, Newcastle University and Satnam Virdee, University of Glasgow
Date:  Monday 24 April 2017
Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm
Venue: Birkbeck, University of London, Room 101, 30 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DQ
Free event for scholars: £5.00 for students and unwaged; £10.00 for all other attendees.

Book your place

If you cannot afford the conference fee please contact Elaine Hudson at the Pears Institute: pearsinstitute@bbk.ac.uk.

This conference explores the relationship between racism and antisemitism. The urgency of this task has been made evident by the emboldening of racist and nationalist movements across the globe. In the UK, tangled and tense debates within the Labour Party around accusations of antisemitism have further underscored the need to think creatively and critically about these issues.

In the past, the studies of racism and antisemitism were closely linked, and in some cases were inseparable. In recent decades, however, a parting of ways has become evident, and today, scholars of racism and antisemitism are all too rarely in dialogue with one another.

This conference sets out to explore the limits and possibilities of bringing together the studies of racism and antisemitism. In particular, it will explore the theoretical dimensions of this broad issue, with sessions on Critical Theory, Intersectionality Theory, Whiteness Studies and Postcolonial Studies.

 

10.00 – 10.20  Registration, tea and coffee

10.20 – 10.30  Introductory Remarks

10.30 – 12.00  Panel 1: Critical Theory

  • Jack Jacobs, City University New York
  • Christine Achinger, University of Warwick
  • Discussant: TBC

12.00 – 12.45  Lunch

12.45 – 2.15  Panel 2: Intersectionality/Whiteness

  • Avtar Brah, Birkbeck, University of London
  • Anoop Nayak, Newcastle University
  • Discussant: Gail Lewis, Birkbeck, University of London

2.15 – 2.30  Tea & Coffee

2.30 – 4.00  Panel 3: Postcolonialism

  • Bryan Cheyette, University of Reading
  • Satnam Virdee, University of Glasgow
  • Discussant: Margarita Aragon, Birkbeck, University of London

4.00 – 4.30  Concluding Discussion 

  • David Feldman, Pears Institute for the study of Antisemitism, Birkbeck, University of London

This conference has been organised by Brendan McGeever and Ben Gidley, Birkbeck, University of London and Aaron Winter, University of East London

More information can be found on the conference’s official webpage.