Jewish Studies announces fall noon and evening lecture series

Both lecture programs are free and open to the public. The lectures' purpose is to promote understanding of Jewish culture, history, religion and life, said Dan Frank, professor of philosophy and director of the Jewish Studies Program.

Frank will present the first lecture, "Idolatry and the Love of Appearances," at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday (Aug. 23) in Stewart Center, Room 318.

Future Noon Series and Public Lecture Series events include:

• Sept. 18, 8-9:30 p.m. Krannert Auditorium. Steven Kellman, professor of comparative literature at the University of Texas at San Antonio, will speak on "Living on Writer's Block: Henry Roth and American Literature."

• Sept. 20, 12:30 p.m. Stewart Center, Room 218A. Miriam Joyce, professor of history at Purdue University Calumet, will speak on "King Hussein and Israel, 1953-1994: A Complex Tale."

• Oct. 18, 12:30 p.m. Matthews Hall, Room 304. Jennifer William, assistant professor of German at Purdue, will speak on "Education or Entertainment? Hollywood's Influence on German Holocaust Film."

• Oct. 23, 7:30-9 p.m. Krannert Auditorium. Alicia Ostriker, professor emerita of English at Rutgers University, will speak on "The Nakedness of the Fathers: Contemporary Midrash as Window and Mirror."

• Nov. 15, 12:30 p.m. Stewart Center, Room 214A. Allison Baumhart, winner of the 2006 Edward Simon B'nai B'rith Barzillai Lodge 111 Prize in Jewish Studies, will present her paper "Why Did the Polish Holocaust Occur?"

The Purdue College of Liberal Arts' Jewish Studies Program was founded in 1981. It is composed of faculty from the departments of English, foreign languages and literatures, history, philosophy, political science, sociology and anthropology, and visual and performing arts. The program offers an undergraduate major and minor.

Writer: Bethany Bannister-Andrews, (765) 494-2073, bbannister@purdue.edu

Sources: Dan Frank, (765) 494-7564, dfrank@purdue.edu

Alice Wenger, (765) 494-7965, wengera@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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