All posts by Birgit Wiedl

CfP Leeds 2025: Worlds of Learning

Call for Papers, Conferences

Next year’s general theme at the IMC Leeds is “Worlds of Learning”. Eveline Brugger and myself are planning two panels on the following topics which we would like to approach as broadly as possible:

Practical learning – i.e. all the circumstances in which Jews learn through application, from business practices to other activities to religious practices; or how difficulties/dangers were circumvented or avoided because lessons had been learned from practical experience.

Forbidden learning – what Jews are not allowed to learn (but may do so anyway); we would be interested in both Christian and Jewish prohibitions, as well as their observance/avoidance/ignoring (and potential repercussions).

IMC still offers the option of a virtual presentation in 2025, which experience has shown works very well.

Submission deadline is the end of September, so if you’re interested, we would ask you to contact us at birgit.wiedl (at) injoest.ac.at

More info on the congress, including bursaries 🙂

Conference “Abseits großer Gemeinden – Kleine jüdische Siedlungen im Mittelalter / Beyond Large Communities – Small Jewish Settlements in the Middle Ages”, 4-6 April, University of Klagenfurt and online, German and English

Conferences

The Institute for History of the University of Klagenfurt and the Institute for Jewish History in Austria hold a conference on Small Jewish Communties in the Middle Ages which will explore the living conditions of Jewish men and women who dwelled outside of organized communities.

No registration necessary – just download the programme below and join us online at https://classroom.aau.at/b/mul-u7i-lhw-flw (or come to Klagenfurt)!

Programm-Kleine-judische-Siedlungen-im-MittelalterDownload

Lecture “Written Sephardic Diaspora’s Survival from Spain to Algeria (14th–15th Centuries)” by Amina Boukail, 30 Jan., 5 pm

News, Talk

As part of the DHIP’s “Euro-Mediterranean Entanglements in Medieval History” lecture series, Amina Boukail from the University of Jijel, Algeria, will speak on “Written Sephardic Diaspora’s Survival from Spain to Algeria (14th-15th centuries)”, with a commentary by Javier Castaño (CSIC Madrid).

Time: 30 January, 5:00 pm

    Register here

    More information about the lecture series here

    Online lecture by Alessandra Veronese (in German): “Jüdische Reisende des Mittelalters”, 25 October, 6:30 MEZ

    Events, News, Talk

    The Universities of Saarland (Medieval Studies) and Graz (Medieval German Philology) are organising a lecture series on “Das Mittelmeer – mediävistische Perspektiven auf ein aktuelles Forschungsfeld” (in German) as part of their interdisciplinary colloquium Medievalia.

    On 25 October, Alessandra Veronese from the University of Pisa will speak on “Jüdische Reisende des Mittelalters”, this lecture and the three following lectures are available online. The links will be posted on the websites below shortly before each lecture.

    Way to the lecture series and the zoom links here (Uni Graz)…
    …or here (Uni Saarbrücken)

    Lecture Series (in German): “Die Vertreibung der Kölner jüdischen Gemeinde 1423/1424 im europäischen Kontext”, Universities of Cologne and Münster, online

    Events, News

    The Universities of Cologne and Münster are hosting a lecture series on “Die Vertreibung der Kölner jüdischen Gemeinde 1423/1424 im europäischen Kontext” which will also be available online and recorded for later viewing.

    The lectures take place every Tuesday from 6pm to 7:30pm CET, starting on 10 October with a lecture by Carla Meyer-Schlenkrich on the expulsion of the Jewish community of Cologne.

    Get the programme and the links here…
    …or here!

    New Book: “Jüdische Geschichte ist uns anvertraut.” Festschrift in Honour of Martha Keil (in German)

    News, Publications

    “It is important to me to make clear that Jewish history is an integral part of history,” Martha Keil has stated in an interview. The Institute for Jewish History in Austria, whose director Martha Keil has been since 2004, has had the great pleasure to honour her birthday and (semi)retirement with a Festschrift which in its diversity of contributions aims at reflecting her demand that Jewish history should always be seen and interpreted in connection with general historical developments.

    The book contains articles from Christoph Cluse, Johannes Heil, Markus Wenninger, Eveline Brugger, and Birgit Wiedl (and many more, post-1500).

    Ad multos annos, bis 120, dear Martha!

    Have a closer look

    Jewish Studies at Kalamazoo

    Conferences, News

    As of Thursday, the annual International Congress on Medieval Studies starts at the Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo. The rich program features in-person, hybrid and virtual sessions, among which three sessions are dedicated to Jewish Studies, organised by Steven McMichael and Birgit Wiedl.

    On Thursday, two virtual sessions will be on Converting Identities: Jewish Converts in the European Middle Ages, with papers by Adrienne Williams Boyarin, Eveline Brugger, Emilie Amar-Zifkin and Jessie Sherwood on Ashkenaz (session 89, 1:30 pm) and Ruben Gregori, Amina Boukail and Barbara E. Logan on Sepharad (session 138, 3:30 pm); and for those of you who actually made the journey, the session on Jewish Christian Interaction will be on Friday, 10:00 am in-person (session 182, Schneider Hall 1245), with papers from William Quinn, Emma Baer-Simon, Kristin Skottki, Michail Kitsos and Deborah Thompson.

    Onto the full program

    New Book, open access: Volume 5 of the Regesten zur Geschichte der Juden in Österreich (German)

    News, Publications

    The authors Eveline Brugger and Birgit Wiedl are very happy to announce that volume 5 of “Regesten zur Geschichte der Juden in Österreich im Mittelalter”, which covers the timeframe from 1405 to 1418, is now availabe for free download in pdf format.

    The printed book (StudienVerlag, Innsbruck and Vienna) will be available shortly.

    Get the book

    Learn more about the project and get volumes 1-4