“Jews and Other Poles”: A Tribute to Gershon Hundert (z”l)
This two-day symposium celebrates the remarkable legacy of our dear colleague and friend, Gershon Hundert (1946-2023). Over the course of his 48 years at Ď㽶ĘÓƵ, Gershon left an indelible impact on faculty and students. Not only was his scholarship influential but his warmth and generosity as a mentor, colleague, and teacher were legion. Beyond Montreal, scholars across the world recognize Gershon as one of the most significant Jewish historians of his generation. His pioneering research on the Jews of Eastern Europe reshaped our understanding of Jewish history and continues to inspire new generations.
“Jews and Other Poles” brings together some of the most creative and innovative minds in Polish and Eastern European Jewish history to reflect on the state of the field and its future––a fitting tribute to Gershon’s enduring influence.
The symposium begins on Sunday, September 22 with a keynote address by Olga Litvak (Cornell University) entitled “Remapping Jewish Modernity: The Legacy of Gershon Hundert.” Litvak’s talk will set the tone for what promises to be a series of thought provoking discussions.
On Monday, September 23, the tribute continues with a full day of panels by scholars who have drawn inspiration from Gershon’s extraordinary contributions. Joining us are Israel Bartal, Jeremy Brown, Maria Cieśla, Natalie Cornett, Ofer Dynes, Esther Frank, Uriel Gellman, Ula Madej-Krupitski, Moshe Rosman, Nancy Sinkoff, and Adam Teller.
Together, we will honour Gershon’s memory and continue the important conversation he started half a century earlier.
Day 2:
Monday, September 23, 2024
Faculty Club, Billiard Room, Ď㽶ĘÓƵ
Program:
- 9:00 – 10:30 - Session 1: Borders, Borderlands, and Boundary Crossing in the Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth
Chair: John Zucchi
Adam Teller, Beeswax and Books: Connections Between Polish-Lithuanian and Ottoman Jews at the End of the Sixteenth Century
Mania Cieśla, Microhistories of Coexistence: Jews and non-Jews in an Urban Context in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Moshe Rosman, Two Models of Female Piety: Beyla Falk (Sixteenth Century) vs Leah Horowitz (Eighteenth Century) (delivered remotely)
- 10:30 – 11:00 - Coffee Break
- 11:00 – 12:00 - Session 2: Crowns, Courts, and Thrones: Rethinking Jewish Paths to Modernity
Chair: Heidi Wendt
Uriel Gellman, Tradition in Transition: Social Engagement in Early Hasidism
Ofer Dynes, The Legend of Saul Wahl: A Reconsideration
- 12:00 - 1:00 Lunch (on site, per invitation only)
- 1:00 - 2:30 - Session 3: Poetry as Memory, Memoires as History
Chair: Olga Litvak
Jeremy Brown, Revivals of Ancient Piety from Medieval Spain to Modern Poland-Lithuania
Esther Frank, The Literary Relation between Memory and History in Rokhl Korn's Village Poetry
Israel Bartal, Glikl, Birkenthal, and Spivakoff: Three Centuries of Ashkenazi Memoires (1691-1964) (delivered remotely)
- 2:30 – 3:00 Coffee Break
- 3:00 - 4:30 Session 4: “Jews and Other Poles” in the Modern Period
Chair: Christopher Silver
Nancy Sinkoff, Reporting on the Spanish Civil War through Polish Jewish Eyes: S. L. Shneiderman's Krig in Shpanyen: Hinterland
Natalie Cornett, Exploring the Impact of Women’s Education on Polish-Jewish Relations in Nineteenth-Century Poland
Ula Madej-Krupitski, Zakopane as a Jewish Space? A Reevaluation of the 1920s and 1930s.
4:45 Closing Remarks
6:00 Dinner, (off site)
Free, RSVP required:Â
