Recent Lectures

February 17, 2009

On February 17, 2009, the Fern and Manfred Steinfeld Program in Judaic Studies presented a lecture by Dr. Marina Rustow, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Emory University, on the Karaites entitled "Heresy, History and Power in Medieval Judaism.” This event was held in Room 1210, McClung Tower on the campus of the University of Tennessee. The event was co-sponsored by The Hodges Better English Fund, the Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, the Abraham and Rebecca Solomon and the Ida Schwartz Distinguished Lecture Fund for Judaic Studies and the Departments of Religious Studies and History, University of Tennessee, and the Knoxville Jewish Alliance.

February 8, 2009

The Fern and Manfred Steinfeld Program in Judaic Studies presents the 8th Annual Robinson Family Lecture on Modern Israel. Dr. David Tal, Visiting Professor, Department of History, Emory University is an expert in the history of the Middle East as well as nuclear proliferation and disarmament.  He will speak on “What President Obama Should Know about Israel and the Peace Process.” This event will be held on Sunday, February 8, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. in the Adult Lounge at the Arnstein Jewish Community Center. Dr. Tal will present a second lecture entitled “The Making and Development of Israeli-American Relations” on Monday February 9, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. at the Black Cultural Center on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Both of these lectures are free and open to the public. These presentations are co-sponsored by The Robinson Family Lecture on Modern Israel Fund, the Emory Institute for the Study of Modern Israel, the Knoxville Jewish Alliance, the Departments of Religious Studies and History, University of Tennessee.

October 30, 2008

Noted poet Charles Fishman read poems on the Holocaust and Israel at the Writers in the Library event. The event is sponsored by the Fern and Manfred Steinfeld Program in Judaic Studies, Writers in the Library, the Creative Writing Program, Religious Studies, the History department, and the Knoxville Jewish Alliance. Fishman also participated in a conversation about poetry on the same day.

A prolific poet whose searing lines on the Holocaust have earned critical acclaim, Fishman has given over 350 readings throughout the U.S. and Israel. His books include Blood to Remember: American Poets on the Holocaust (2007, Time Being Books), Chopin’s Piano (2006, Time Being Books), and The Death Mazurka (1989, Texas Tech University Press), which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 1990. Fishman’s works have appeared in many international journals, including publications from Korea, Ireland, England, and Canada.

Fishman’s awards include the Paterson Award for Literary Excellence in 2007 for Chopin’s Piano, The Long Island School of Poetry Award from the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association in 2006, and the Ann Stanford Poetry Prize of the Southern California Anthology in 1996.

Contact Information

Gilya Gerda Schmidt, Ph.D.
Chair, Judaic Studies Program
Professor and Head of Department of Religious Studies
501 McClung Tower
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-0450

Phone: 865-974-6985
Fax: 865-974-0965
Email: gschmidt@utk.edu