Arizona State University
February 5-7 2006

Zionism set out to fundamentally restructure the Jewish experience in and of the world. To do so, it sought not only to generate ideas and visions of a future Jewish nation, but to construct cultural practices and to establish new social, political, economic, and legal institutions that would reshape the Jewish public sphere. The emergence of public phenomena, moreover, was inherently related to a reconfiguration of the private sphere. The two converged within a new identity politics which was to serve as the foundation of a new national community.

Zionist efforts to reshape Jewish identity and to construct a national culture have been the focus of considerable attention in recent years. Few attempts have been made, however, to examine the production of this culture as a broad interlinking of haute- and popular cultural practices, political structures, legal institutions, medical associations, economic infrastructures, and more. The relationship between this undertaking and the competing efforts of rival Jewish national ideologies—such as territorialism, autonomism, bundism and folkism—has likewise been largely overlooked.

This conference will seek to initiate a new interdisciplinary exploration of the Zionist cultural project at the nexus of national vision and public phenomenon and in its dialogue and competition with other Jewish nationalist undertakings.

Proposals for papers should include names of participants with a brief c.v. and a 250-350 word abstract. A selection of papers will be published after the conference. The Jewish Studies Program at Arizona State University can reimburse some of the travel and lodging expenses of those delivering papers.

Deadline for submission: September 6, 2005

Please send proposals or inquiries to:

Prof. Shai Ginsburg/ Prof. Arieh Saposnik
Department of Languages and Literatures
Arizona State University
P.O. Box 870202
Tempe, AZ 85287
USA
Email: shaig@asu.edu