BIAJS Conference 2022: "Unfolding Time: Texts - Practices - Politics" - 11 July 2022 to 13 July 2022

This year's conference of the British and Irish Association for Jewish Studies (BIAJS) invites scholars to explore how Jews have shaped and shape their individual, familial and communal commitments, cultural and social lives, historical understandings and political projects by engaging imaginatively with time and ‘time-like’ matters: https://britishjewishstudies.org/about/conference-2022 (CfP). At the same time, the conference will offer a forum for the discussion of current research in many further areas, it will highlight the work of new scholars, and it will address urgent questions of the moment. 

Conference programme:

For the conference programme, please see the BIAJS 2022 Programme overview (pdf) and Conference booklet.

Keynote lectures:

• “The End or the Beginning.” The Interval Between Past and Future in German-Jewish Modernism
  Professor Vivian Liska (University of Antwerp/The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
  Monday, 11 July.

• Living in Multiple Time-Frames in Ancient and Medieval Jewish Society
  Professor Sacha Stern (University College London)
  Tuesday, 12 July.

Round-tables (online, free and open to all):

• Time in the Plural: Why Time Studies Matter in Jewish Studies
  Sarit Kattan Gribetz (Fordham University), Lynn Kaye (Brandeis University), and Max Strassfeld (The University of Arizona)
  Tuesday, 5 July, 5.30pm (UTC+1:00).
  
  For more details and to register, please follow this link.

• Jewish Tangible Heritage in Ukraine: Buildings, Monuments, Museums and Libraries
  Sofia Dyak (Center for Urban History, Lviv), Eugeny Kotlyar (Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts), Maksym Martyn (Lviv Museum of the History of Religion), Vitaly Chernoivanenko (Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine), Nadia Ufimtseva (National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy), Mia Spiro (University of Glasgow), Eva Frojmovic (University of Leeds)
  Tuesday, 12 July, 3.15pm (UTC+1:00).
  
  For more details and to register, please follow this link.
  
  This event has been co-organised by the Jewish Historical Society of England (JHSE), whose generous support we gratefully acknowledge.

Conference registration:

Registration has now closed. If you have questions regarding registration, please contact us at biajs2022@kcl.ac.uk.

The fee structure reflects our wish to make the conference, including Tuesday's conference dinner, as inclusive as possible. Please consider a donation to support BIAJS: https://britishjewishstudies.org

If you would like to join BIAJS as a member, please visit: https://britishjewishstudies.org/about/join-bajs

Registered conference participants are invited to sign up for the following events:

• A Guided Visit to The House of Life, Willesden
  Professor Nadia Valman (QMUL)

  The House of Life is London’s newest public heritage location. A unique government-funded project to open up an ornate Victorian Jewish cemetery in Willesden as a public amenity, the site includes a brand new visitor centre with displays on Jewish funerary practices, beautiful garden areas and restored memorials as well as new signage on a diverse selection of individuals from the London Jewish community over more than a century. This visit will include an introduction by Professor Nadia Valman, who has been a member of the advisory board since early in the project’s life.
  
  Time: Sunday 10 July, 2.30-4.00pm
  Meeting point: tbc
  Donation: £5-10 (larger donations welcome); limited numbers – booking essential: please follow this link.
  
  
• Unfolding Time: A Visit to the Treasures of the British Library
  Ilana Tahan (Lead Curator Hebrew and Christian Orient Studies, British Library)
  
  'Show & Tell' with Ilana Tahan, Lead Curator Hebrew and Christian Orient Studies, featuring manuscripts and rare prints on astronomy, astrology, history and further 'timely' matters as well as other library treasures. Time: Tuesday 12 July, 3.15-4.15pm
  
  Meeting point: tbc
  Free; limited numbers – booking essential: please follow this link.
  
  
• A Literature Walk through London’s Jewish East End
  Professor Nadia Valman and Dr Vivi Lachs (QMUL)
  
  Explore London’s Jewish East End with Professor Nadia Valman and Dr Vivi Lachs of Queen Mary, University of London, who present a guided walk through East London’s lost Jewish past based on their current Arts and Humanities Research Council project on Yiddish and English literature of the East End from the 1880s to the 1950s.
  
  Time: Wednesday 13 July, 3.45-5.00pm.
  Meeting point: tbc
  Free; limited numbers – booking essential: please follow this link.
  
  
• David Hillman’s Stained Glass Windows: A Guided Visit to St John’s Wood Synagogue
  Professor David Newman (Ben-Gurion University), Dayan Ivan Binstock (St John's Wood Synagogue)
  
  The largest single collection of David Hillman's stained glass windows are to be found in St John’s Wood Synagogue (over 100 windows), created in two distinct periods of time. They include some surprising and even humorous imagery over and beyond the classical topics. The presentations will discuss briefly David Hillman's life and family, and will then focus on selected images, allowing the audience to visit the windows in what is one of British Jewry's most significant architectural secrets and hidden resources.
  
  Time: Wednesday 13 July, 4.00-5.00pm.
  Meeting point: tbc
  Free; limited numbers – booking essential: please follow this link.

Meals:
The conference fee includes refreshments, (sandwich) lunches and receptions. In addition, we hope that many participants will be able to register for an informal and inclusive conference dinner on Tuesday 12 July (Great Hall, King's Building). All meals will be vegetarian and include vegan options. For kosher options, and if you have further dietary requirements, please e-mail the conference team: biajs2022@kcl.ac.uk.

Accommodation:
Conference participants are asked to make their own arrangements for accommodation (to secure flexible cancellation policies). Hotels around Russell Square and the British Museum can be good options (e.g. the Tavistock Hotel, https://www.imperialhotels.co.uk/hotels/tavistock-hotel), or you may consider hotels south of the river (such as the Novotel Blackfriars, https://all.accor.com/hotel/7942/index.en.shtml, or Ibis Blackfriars, https://all.accor.com/hotel/7943/index.en.shtml).

Returning to a meeting in person:
We look forward to an annual conference that can take place in person. Conference participants will be expected to be considerate and to contribute to an event that will be as safe as possible for everyone. Depending on circumstances in summer, we may strongly recommend the wearing of face covering inside buildings, unless you are exempt.