Controversy and Perception: Jews and Christians Amidst Dialogue and Dispute

Jewish-Christian interaction has existed since the inception of Christianity. Jews and Christians encountered and responded to one another over the centuries in a variety of contexts and fashions. These encounters had a significant impact on the experiences and cultures of both the Jewish and the Christian communities.

This panel aims to explore the diverse cultural, religious, and social dynamics that have shaped the Jewish experience and its cross-cultural connections within the Christian world, and vice versa. Specifically, it will focus on the disputes and perceptions that have characterized the interactions between these communities, whether through polemics and controversy or dialogues.

The goal of this panel is to delve into the intricate interplay between Judaism and Christianity, examining their views towards each other and attempting to identify cases where there have been paradigm shifts across a wide range of historical eras and various methodological approaches. The aim of this panel is to delve into how these religious systems interacted with and responded to their proximity from the early period onwards.

The panel accepts topics on the following themes: Jewish-Christian relations, Jewish anti-Christian polemic, Christian anti-Jewish polemic, Christian perceptions of Jews and Judaism, Jewish perceptions of Christians and Christianity, and related topics without limitation of historical period.

The call for papers will open on 1st November 2023

CALL FOR PAPERS – European Academy of Religion (EuARe)

Palermo, Italy, 20th-23rd May – 2024

Miriam Benfatto (Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna)


OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Andreas Lehnertz (October 20, 2023). Controversy and Perception: Jews and Christians Amidst Dialogue and Dispute. medievalJewishStudiesNow! Retrieved July 8, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/ri8h


About Andreas Lehnertz

As Juniorprofessor of medieval history with a specialization in Jewish history at the University of Trier, Andreas Lehnertz studies the social, cultural, and religious history of Europe. His academic pursuits focus on the nuanced dynamics of everyday Christian-Jewish relations, the study of marginal Hebrew and Yiddish deeds, the study of Jewish and general sealing practices, and the in-depth study of Jewish craftspeople. He wrote a book on "Jewish Seals in the Medieval German Empire: The Authentication and Self-Representation of Jewish Men and Women". His expertise has been further honed through his roles as a postdoctoral fellow in the ERC project "Beyond the Elite - Jewish Daily Life in Medieval Europe" at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and as a member of the Martin Buber Society in the Humanities and Social Sciences, also at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Currently he writes a book about "Jewish Craftspeople in Medieval Germany". Through his research and publications, he aims to make a meaningful contribution to the academic discourse surrounding medieval history and to provide valuable insights into the rich tapestry of European history during this pivotal period.