Center for Jewish History, New York City

JUNE 11-13, 2012


Sponsored by the American Jewish Historical Society

Beyond Boundaries:
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Studying American Jews
**DEADLINE EXTENDED TO NOVEMBER 15, 2011**
Please send proposals via email hsalomon@ajhs.org

The 2012 AJHS Scholars’ Conference will explore disciplinary and other kinds of boundaries that currently confront the field of American Jewish history. It will examine the opportunities and challenges that arise from the engagement of history and the humanities (including literary studies, media studies, theater, dance and art history, cultural studies, and musicology) as well as the social sciences (anthropology, economics, folklore, linguistics, political science, psychology, sociology). The conference will also explore the impact that the work of American Jewish historians has had on other disciplines.

Looking beyond disciplinary boundaries raises various questions: How has the interdisciplinary study of American Jewry developed? How does the study of American Jewish history take shape in relation to area studies or comparative programs, such as American Studies, Ethnic Studies, Comparative Religions, or Jewish Studies? What kinds of cross-disciplinary engagements would best enhance the field of American Jewish history?

In considering disciplinary boundaries, how do they compare with other boundaries that figure in the work of American Jewish historians? These other boundaries include:
• Geographical boundaries (e.g., in studies of immigration or of American Jews as part of a transnational or diasporic community)
• Cultural boundaries (e.g., in studies that examine the relation of Jews with their neighbors, comparative studies of Jews vis-à-vis other groups, or the study of communities that test the limits of Jewish peoplehood)
• Discursive boundaries (e.g., in studies that engage non-verbal forms of expression)
• Institutional boundaries (in work that bridges the academy and the arts, or institutions of public culture, or work that addresses a general public audience or reflects Jewish communal concerns)

The committee invites proposals for papers that engage any of the aforementioned issues and encourages the submission of complete panel proposals and roundtable presentations. The organizers view the theme of "beyond boundaries" very broadly, and will consider a wide range of proposals bearing on all aspects of the American Jewish experience, though preference will go to those that deal in some way with the conference's central theme.

Graduate students completing dissertations may submit proposals accompanied by a letter of recommendation from their advisor. All submissions must include a one-page (250 words) paper abstract, short (120 words) biography, and a specific indication of technological needs. Complete panel proposals are strongly encouraged. Please send proposals to hsalomon@ajhs.org by November 15, 2011.