CFP: German-Jewish Reading Practices

FROM H-JUDAIC:

From: Nick Block
Sent: Thu 1/26/2012 8:46 AM
Subject: CFP: Cultural Perspectives on German-Jewish Reading Practices, = GSA, Deadline: Feb. 5
=20
CFP: Cultural Perspectives on German-Jewish Reading Practices=20 36th Annual Conference of the German Studies Association (GSA),=20 Milwaukee, WI; October 4-7, 2012=20

Walter Benjamin unpacks his library. _The Star of Redemption_, with the magen David emblazoned on the cover, sits ostentatiously under Gershom Scholem's arm in the streets of Berlin. A Viennese caf. Reading = practices inform much of culture. In turn, "readings" inform much of scholarship.
Reading can shape imagined communities but can also be symptomatic of disengaging from community. In what ways do German Jews perform reading?
How does the book play into notions of identity? Can the affixing of a Jewish-themed bookplate be seen as an intervention by the reader, a = modern take on the affixing of a mezuzah? This panel at the GSA seeks presentations which engage with reading practices in the German-Jewish sphere from any vantage point. Papers in dialogue with Jewish studies, gender studies, visual culture, and critical theory are especially welcome.
Possible topics include:=20
-subcultures and reading=20
-material culture: the comic book, the bookplate, book collecting=20 -reading aloud and the aural reading experience=20 -sites of reading: the park bench, the Strassenbahn, the desk=20

Please submit abstracts (max. 250 words) to Nick Block =
(nblock [at] umich.edu)
by Sunday, Feb. 5th.=20

Presenters must be or become members of the German Studies Association = by Feb. 15th. Information on membership is available on the GSA website (www.thegsa.org).

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