MANFRED R. LEHMANN MEMORIAL MASTER WORKSHOP IN THE HISTORY OF THE JEWISH BOOK

The Jewish Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania, in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania Library and the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, are pleased to announce the ninth annual Manfred R. Lehmann Memorial Master Workshop to be held on May 10-11 (Sunday-Monday), 2009, at CAJS.

This year’s workshop will be led by Professor Moshe Rosman of the Jewish History department of Bar Ilan University in Israel. The workshop will treat the Traditional Eastern European Jewish Book, 1500-1900, by focusing on three principal types: Rabbinic and Hasidic books, and those for women. Sessions will survey each category, analyzing their subjects, forms, and social and cultural roles, and will highlight the printing, reception history, and cultural/social significance of one central book for each type: the Talmud, the Tze’ena U’re’ena, and Shivhei haBesht.

The workshop is open to professors and independent scholars, professional librarians in the field of Jewish and related studies, and graduate students in Jewish Studies. Attendance at previous workshops is not a prerequisite for admission.

Because much of the Workshop will be devoted to the reading of Hebrew texts like colophons, it is necessary that all participants be able to read non-vocalized Hebrew texts.

For faculty and professionals, tuition is $250. In addition to attendance and all materials for the workshop, the tuition includes two or three nights in a hotel (double-occupancy) for the nights of May 10 and 11 (with the option of May 9), and all meals and refreshments (all kosher) during the course of the workshop.

Graduate students may apply for a full scholarship to the workshop.
N.B. To apply for the scholarship, a graduate student should write us giving the details of his or her academic program and a brief statement explaining how the workshop will further his or her academic studies. S/he should also ask a faculty advisor to write us a letter of recommendation on the student's behalf.

Attendance is limited. If you are interested in attending the workshop, please notify us immediately. Full payment must be received by March 1, 2009. Make checks payable to “Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania.”

A registration form is available at: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jwst/registrationLW2009.pdf

Please address all correspondence to:

Lehmann Workshop
c/o Jewish Studies Program
711 Williams Hall
255 S. 36th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305
jsp-info@ccat.sas.upenn.edu
215-898-6654

The Manfred R. Lehmann Memorial Master Workshop in the History of the Jewish Book has been made possible by a generous contribution from the Manfred and Anne Lehmann Foundation along with grants from Mr. Albert Friedberg, the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, Andrew H. Cohn, Esq.
C'66, and the University of Pennsylvania Research Foundation.

********************************************************


Christine Walsh
Administrative Coordinator
Jewish Studies Program
711 Williams Hall
255 S. 36th Street
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305
Tel 215-898-6654
Fax 215-573-6026
chwalsh@ccat.sas.upenn.edu

Justin Winsor Prize for Library History Essay

Re-posted from SHARP-L:

From: Suzanne Stauffer
Subject: Justin Winsor Prize for Library History Essay

The Library History Round Table (LHRT) of the American Library Association
(ALA) is accepting submissions for the 2008 Justin Winsor Prize for the best
library history essay. Applications must be received by February 28, 2009.
The application deadline is firm and any submissions received after the
deadline will not be forwarded to the review committee. Receipt will be
confirmed with 4 business days.

The award, named in honor of the distinguished 19th century librarian,
historian, and bibliographer who was also ALA's first president, consists of
a $500 cash award. It includes an invitation to have the winner's paper
considered for publication in Libraries & the Cultural Record.

Manuscripts submitted should not be previously published, previously
submitted for publication, or under consideration for publication or another
award. To be considered, essays should embody original historical research
on a significant topic in library history, be based on primary sources
materials whenever possible, and use good English composition and superior
style.

Essays should be organized in a form similar to that of articles published
in Libraries and the Cultural Record, with footnotes, spelling and
punctuation conforming to the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style.
Papers should not exceed 35 typewritten, double-spaced pages (plus footnotes
and bibliography).

FOUR (4) copies of the manuscript should be submitted. The name and other
information identifying the author should appear only on a separate cover
letter.

Submit manuscripts to:

Denise M. Davis
Director
American Library Association
50 East Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611

Submissions via fax and email are not acceptable.

Decisions will be made by LHRT's Justin Winsor Prize Committee.

Suzanne M. Stauffer, Ph.D., Chair Justin Winsor Prize Committee
Assistant Professor
School of Library and Information Science
Louisiana State University
275 Coates Hall
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
(225)578-1461
Fax: (225)578-4581
stauffer@lsu.edu

Book History at AJS

This blog grew out of a meeting held last year at the December 2007 meeting of the Association for Jewish Studies in Toronto. Although we are not convening a meeting this year at the conference to be held in a few weeks in Washington, our discussions last year and the informal networking that went on resulted in a number of sessions proposed with significant "history of the book" content. In addition, a number of sessions look to be of interest to readers of this blog.

Here is a selection of such sessions:

Session 1.5 PATRONAGE, TRUST, AND AGENCY: NETWORKS OF EUROPEAN JEWRY
Chair and Respondent: Matthias B. Lehmann (Indiana University)
includes:
"Livornese Hebrew Printing, Patronage, and Jewish Intellectual Networks in the
Eighteenth Century"
Francesca Bregoli (University of Oxford)

3.2 JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN LEARNING DURING THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES:
PARALLELS AND POINTS OF CONTACT
Chair: Martin I. Lockshin (York University)
"The Process of Reading in Twelfth-Century Jewish and Christian Biblical Exegesis"
Michael A. Signer (University of Notre Dame)
"Tosafists, Cathedral Masters, and Their Critics"
Ephraim Kanarfogel (Yeshiva University)
"Jewish Knowledge of Christianity in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries"
Daniel J. Lasker (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev)
"Echoes of the Eve/Mary Dichotomy in the Zohar"
Sharon Koren (HUC-JIR)

3.3 RABBINIC REDACTORS AND THEIR READERS
Chair: Judith R. Baskin (University of Oregon)
"Confusing the Heavenly and Human Fathers: Rabbinic Power and Powerlessness in
BT Massekhet Ta’anit"
Julia Watts Belser (Missouri State University)
"In Front of the Text: Reading Self in Rabbinic Literature"
Serguei Dolgopolskii (University of Kansas, Lawrence)
"Literary Structure and Thematic Coherence in a Chapter of Bavli"
Devora Steinmetz (Independent Scholar)
"Jacob ibn Habib’s Critique of Medieval Intellectual Culture: A View of the Ein Yaakov through the Lens of the Talmud"
Marjorie S. Lehman (Jewish Theological Seminary)

4.10 READING THE MEDIEVALS: CASE STUDIES IN RECEPTION HISTORY
Chair: Miriam Bodian (Touro College)
"Scripturalization of Rashi’s Torah Commentary in Late Medieval and Early Modern Times"
Eric Lawee (York University)
"Leon Modena as Reader and as Read"
Yaacob Dweck (Princeton University)
"A New Guide? The “Modern Maimonides” Motif in the Maskilic Reception of Spinoza"
Daniel B. Schwartz (George Washington University)
"Who Asks the Question? Rashi’s Constructed and Constructing Readers"
Devorah Schoenfeld (St. Mary’s College of Maryland)
Respondent: Adam B. Shear (University of Pittsburgh)

5.4 JEWS AND NEW MEDIA I: SOCIAL SOFTWARE
Sponsored by the Working Group on Jews, Religion, and Media, Center for Religion and Media,New York University
Chair: Ilana Abramovitch (Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY)
Discussants: Marcy Brink-Danan (Brown University)
Nathaniel Deutsch (Swarthmore College)
Janice Fernheimer (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
Edward Portnoy (Rutgers University)
Brigitte Sion (New York University)
Chava Weissler (Lehigh University)

7.4 JEWS AND NEW MEDIA II: ARCHIVES AND THE CULTURAL MARKETPLACE
Sponsored by the Working Group on Jews, Religion, and Media, Center for Religion and Media,New York University
Chair: Andrea Lieber (Dickinson College)
Discussants: Ari Davidow (Jewish Women’s Archive)
Ayala Fader (Fordham University)
Samuel Heilman (Queens College, CUNY)
Emily Alice Katz (Jewish Th eological Seminary)
Elkanah Shmotkin (Jewish Educational Media)
Francesco Spagnolo (Judah L. Magnes Museum)

Hope to see some of you at these sessions. And please e-mail or comment if I missed any.