From the 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia: A full-color plate depicting the costume of French Jews through the ages.

Jewish Studies Papers and Sessions at Kalamazoo International Congress on Medieval Studies

Posted on by Margot

From the 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia: A full-color plate depicting the costume of French Jews through the ages.

This coming Thursday (May 11), the 52nd Annual International Congress on Medieval Studies kicks off at Western Michigan University. As a scholar with interest in both Medieval Studies and Jewish Studies, I thought a schedule listing all of the sessions and papers that touch on Jewish topics might be useful, since I for one, always scan the program looking for key words like "Jewish," "Judaism," etc.. I always miss some panel that did not show up in my search. I hope this can serve as a supplement to your own searches!

I got this idea from Kristen Mapes who does the same thing with Digital Humanities at KZOO.

I am sure that I've made a mistake or two (or twelve) or missed something, so please forgive (and correct) me! You can let me know on twitter @margotvalles1 or in the comments section below.

Program Numbers are listed first, marked with a "#". This is followed by the location (in parentheses). After this, the title of the session is given. Presenters and participants are listed in bullet points, separated from their role or paper titles by a ✶.

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Crusade, Orientalism, Islamophobia Medieval and Modern Intersections Thursday, March 16, 2017 303 Inernational Center noon to 1:30

Honored to be included in this upcoming timely and exciting panel!

Posted on by Margot

Crusade, Orientalism, Islamophobia

Crusade, Orientalism, Islamophobia Medieval and Modern Intersections Thursday, March 16, 2017 303 Inernational Center noon to 1:30

The Panelists

Adnan Hussain, Sallah Hassan and Margot Valles

Tamar Boyadjian put together this very impressive panel that I'm so honored to be included in. It should present very interesting intersections of issues from the Middle Ages through the contemporary.

I'll be talking about the representation of Muslims in Early Yiddish Epic and the reading of those representations in 19th and 20th century scholarship.

The other panelists are Dr. Boyadjian, herself,  Adnan Husain and Salah Hassan. 

CrusadeOrientalismIslamophobia.Panel.March2017

Joanne Gilbert speaks to IAH 207 and the wider academic community!

Posted on by Margot

I am excited to announce that Dr. Joanne Gilbert will be visiting IAH 207, Humor in 20th Century Literatures, Cultures and Identities on March 28th, 2017 at 4:00 pm in Brody Hall 138. She will be giving a multimedia presentation that deals with marginality and humor which will be open to the public.

Dr. Gilbert’s scholarship is not only widely regarded and consulted in academic circles, but is also well-loved by students who read her work in this class. Her work in the fields of humor, gender and culture was recently recognized (Nov. 2015) by the National Communication Association with the Lilla A. Heston Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Interpretation and Performance Studies.

Students will read the introduction and first chapter of her 2004 (reprint 2008) book, Performing Marginality: Humor, Gender, and Cultural Critique as a part of the regular course schedule but also in preparation for her visit.

Interested students and community members can join us for dinner at Brody Square.

Excited about this panel on Yiddish Memory Before, During and After the Holocaust

Posted on by Margot

With MSU’s new access to the USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive and its more than 54,000 hours of testimony from witnesses to and survivors of genocide, MSU’s Jewish Studies program has taken several steps to excite and promote scholarship that uses these materials. After a rich and well-attended workshop about using these testimonies in both research and teaching in the fall, I decided we should continue to explore the issues raised by many of the participants.

Additionally, with the arrival of Dr. Amy Simon as the new William and Audrey Farber Family Chair in Holocaust Studies and European Jewish History here at MSU and the appointment of Dr. Anya Quilitzsch as the lecturer in Yiddish language at U of M, we had a stellar group of scholars in the field all working within the area.  Dr. Jeffrey Veidlinger, director of the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies at U of M, Anya, Amy and I all worked to varying extents on the AHEYM project. This convergence/reunion of colleagues all working in the field of Yiddish and history inspired me to put together this panel.