Call for Papers. Internationale Konferenz des DFG Schwerpunktprogramms 2357 „Jüdisches Kulturerbe“

 Jewish Cultural Heritage in Light of Critical Heritage Studies

3.-6. März 2025 am Gustav-Stresemann-Institute in Bonn

„The definitions of what Jewish cultural heritage is or should be, what significance it has for various stakeholders, and how it is used as a social, cultural, religious, economic, and political resource are subject to social and political changes. The conference is dedicated to various tangible and intangible manifestations of Jewish cultural heritage, which will be discussed from the perspective of Critical Heritage Studies. The field of Critical Heritage Studies reconceptualizes heritage by paying attention to themes such as power, identity, economic development, and conflict, and by engaging with wide areas of critical inquiry. It is further concerned with locating heritage in the present and not the past, as it is in the present that people assume responsibility for the safeguarding of Jewish heritage; in the present, different groups of stakeholders interpret the meaning of Jewish heritage and associate it with particular meanings, values, and even identities. Jewish heritage is thus both a cultural asset and a social and political instrument for (re-)defining Jewish culture, Judaism, and Jewishness. 

Conference objectives 

The objective of the conference is to facilitate a more profound comprehension of the intricacies of Jewish cultural heritage and to identify novel avenues for both academic inquiry and cultural policy, in light of Critical Heritage Studies. The conference aims to challenge dominant narratives and to expand the discourses and horizon of Jewish cultural heritage in a fast-paced, almost daily changing world. Comparative perspectives on Jewish heritage are welcome.“