I am just emerging from a colloquium that earlier this week I co-organized with Ishay Rosen-Zvi on “Jews and Judaism in Late Antiquity.” As such things go, it was a bit unusual: we focused on five “meta” issues (state of the academic field; undergraduate education; graduate education; the relationship between Israeli and American scholars; and our place in and response to the wider societal sources in which we work), discussing them as a group rather than having formal presentations. I made brief opening remarks, Ishay made brief closing remarks, and Shaye J. D. Cohen delivered a keynote, but otherwise the group participants took turns facilitating the discussions. I may have more to say later about what I got out of this colloquium but in the interim below are my slightly redacted opening remarks: My name is Michael Satlow, from the Program in Judaic Studies and Department of Religious Studies here at Brown University. Ishay Rosen-Zvi and I are delighted to be able to welcome you to our colloquium on Jews and Judaism in late antiquity. This idea for this colloquium arose out of a happenstance. The Program in Judaic Studies at Brown University administers a fund, the Ruth and […]
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