Through the Pages of the Past: The Jewish Book in History

The Jews are known as "the people of the book" and Jewish culture is invariably associated with bookishness and textuality.

In this lecture, Prof. Stern will show how the book, as we know it, is not native to Jewish culture but, in the course of history, it becomes an indelible mark of Jewish identity. Far from distinguishing Jewish uniqueness, however, the material shape of the book always mirrors the external host cultures in which Jews have lived and produced their books. The lecture will focus on the history of that most "Jewish" of all Jewish books, the Talmud, and on its unusual typographic layout.

David Stern is Harry Starr is a professor of classical and modern Jewish and Hebrew literature and professor of comparative literature at Harvard University. He is a world-renowned expert in the history of the book and Jewish literature. He has has served as a visiting professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, at Princeton University, and at Nanjing University.

This event is organized by the Department of Religions and Cultures, the Concordia Institute for Canadian Jewish Studies, the Azrieli Institute of Israel Studies and the Concordia Religion Students Association.

Light refreshments will be served.

This event is supported by the Marvin A. Drimer Foundation.