Events 2006-2007 November 7, 2006 Seventh Annual I. Edward Kiev Memorial Lecture Speaker: Dr. Susannah Heschel "The Fascination with Islam in Modern Jewish Scholarship" Marvin Center Room 301 4:30-6:00pm April 22-23, 2007 The Future of Zionism: Looking at Israel in the 21st Century This two-day interdisciplinary conference will examine Israeli history, society, politics, and culture in an attempt to identify and evaluate some of the country's challenges in a globalizing world and a changing Middle East, especially after the Palestinian uprisings, the American war on terror and Israel's war in Lebanon in 2006. The conference aims to go beyond the postzionist debates that have stood at the center of discourse regarding Israel in the past decade, and offer new perspectives on Zionism and its legacy and relevance in the decades to come. April 22 (half day) The first half day will consist of a 40-minute public lecture by a prominent Israeli cultural commentator. Three academic speakers from different disciplines will respond to the lecture. After their response, the floor will open to moderated questions from the public. April 23 (full day) The second day will be devoted to a scholars colloquium. 12 scholars will take part in the event, which will be divided into 4 disciplinary sessions of 3 scholars each. The sessions will be divided into four disciplines: history, literature, culture and sociology/political science. Scholars in each sessions will give an extemporaneous presentation of 10-15 minutes. After the presentations the floor will be open to comments and discussions by the rest of the participants. Dicussions will be moderated by designated session chairs. There will be 2 sessions in the morning and 2 sessions in the afternoon, separated by a lunch break. The sessions will be concluded by drinks and light refreshments. The colloquium will be open to the public, although spectators will not be permitted to participate in the panel discussions. Colloquim Participants Majid Al-Haj, Sociology/Anthropology, Haifa University Gil Eyal, Sociology, Columbia University Eran Kaplan, History, University of Cincinatti Dror Mish'ani, Culture/literature, Tel-Aviv University Gidi Nevo, Literature, Ben Gurion University Yaron Peleg, Literature, George Washington University Derek Penslar, History, University of Toronto Yo'av Peled, Political Science, Tel-Aviv University Uri Ram, Sociology, Ben Gurion University/The New School Gadi Taub, Culture/history, Hebrew University Ilan Troen, History, Brandeis University Yael Zerubavel, Culture, Rutgers University Please stay tuned to our website for a detailed itinerary and registration information.