January 13, 2013 – Material and Visual Culture of the Holocaust is a series of lectures held at Florida International University during the spring semester. Organized by FIU’s Jewish Studies Program, the lectures, which are free and open to the public, feature national and international scholars on topics ranging from branding and the Nazis to photography during the Holocaust to archaeology at Sobibor.
The lectures are supported in part by Targum Shlishi and held in conjunction with the exhibition Race and Visual Culture under National Socialism in The Wolfsonian Teaching Gallery at the Frost Art Museum, guest curated by Oren Baruch Stier, director of the Jewish Studies Program and associate professor of religious studies at FIU. The exhibition explores ways in which the Nazi Party in Germany promoted the idea of a racially pure nation through the use of visual objects produced during the Third Reich, including graphic design, paintings, ceramics, and publications.
“Our support for this lecture series reflects a broadening of our support for projects related to the Holocaust. Our previous focus was on justice for Nazi war crimes, while our current expanded support includes education, awareness, documentation, and scholarship,” notes Aryeh Rubin, director of Targum Shlishi. “It is critically important to educate society, and especially our youth, about the tyranny of the Holocaust; the initiatives we support are geared towards promoting tolerance and ensuring that such horrors are never repeated.”
The lectures are listed below; online registration is required for each. For further information about the lectures and to register, go to: http://fiuholocaustseries.eventbrite.com.
“The lecture series complements the exhibition, allowing us to highlight the variety and profound impact not only of visual culture on German society during the Third Reich, but also shedding light on little discussed aspects of the material culture of the Holocaust and its aftermath in contemporary commemoration and reflection,” says Stier.
Lectures
“Otwock, Luta, W?odawa and Sobibor: Documenting the Holocaust with Testimony, Text, Archaeology and Geophysics—The Judith and William Freund Sobibor Project at the University of Hartford”
Lecturer: Richard Freund, University of Hartford
January 16, 1 pm, Frost Art Museum (FIU)
“Race and Visual Culture under National Socialism”
Lecturer: Oren Baruch Stier, FIU
January 24, 2013, 4 pm, Frost Art Museum (FIU)
Held in conjunction with exhibition opening
“When Should We Remember the Holocaust?”
Lecture and Musical Performance: Oren Baruch Stier and the Amernet Quartet, FIU
January 29, 2013, 7 pm, Jewish Museum of Florida–FIU
“Prelude to the Holocaust: Antisemitism in Europe”
Lecturer: Francis X. Luca, The Wolfsonian–FIU
February 1, 1 pm, Frost Art Museum (FIU)
“Presence and Absence: Jews in Consciousness of Young Poles—Results of Empirical Research”
Lecturer: Jolanta Ambrosewicz-Jacobs, Jagiellonian University
February 19, 11am, FIU campus
“Antisemitism in the Dock: Julius Streicher, ‘Germany’s No. 1 Jew-Baiter’ ”
Lecturer: Thomas Bryant, Alice Solomon Hochschule Berlin—University of Applied Sciences
February 20, 1 pm, Frost Art Museum (FIU)
“Remembering the Holocaust through Photographs”
Lecturer: Marta Zarzycka, Utrecht University
March 8, 2013, 1 pm, Frost Art Museum (FIU)
“Branding the Nazis”
Lecturer: Steven Heller, School of Visual Arts
March 22, 2013, 1 pm, Frost Art Museum (FIU)
About the Jewish Studies Program, FIU
The Jewish Studies Program at Florida International University educates students and the general South Florida community about the religion, history, cultures, languages, and literatures of Judaism, as well as relevant issues in politics, international relations, sociology, and anthropology. The program offers lectures, community outreach events, and academically rigorous, multidisciplinary courses at the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU, the Modesto A. Maidique Campus, the Biscayne Bay Campus, and online. The program is housed in the School of International and Public Affairs within the College of Arts & Sciences, which brings together many of FIU’s most prominent international centers, institutes, and programs.
About Targum Shlishi
Targum Shlishi is dedicated to providing a range of creative solutions to problems facing Jewry today. Premised on the conviction that dynamic change and adaptation have historically been crucial to a vibrant and relevant Judaism and to the survival of its people, Targum Shlishi’s initiatives are designed to stimulate the development of new ideas and innovative strategies that will enable Jewish life, its culture, and its traditions to continue to flourish. For more information on the foundation, visit its website: www.targumshlishi.org.
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