Antisemitism |
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Antisemitism · Jewish history
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The Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism (SICSA) was established in 1982 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem by an international group of scholars, as an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to an independent, non-political approach to the accumulation and dissemination of knowledge necessary for understanding the phenomenon of anti-Semitism.[1] The Center engages in research on anti-Semitism throughout the ages, focusing on relations between Jews and non-Jews, particularly in situations of tension and crisis.
Robert S. Wistrich, the Neuberger Chair in Modern Jewish History at the Hebrew University and a world expert in the field of anti-Semitism, serves as the Center's director.
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More than 120 studies have been conducted under the Center’s auspices, covering a wide range of disciplines — history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, literature and art.
Felix Posen Fellowships are awarded to doctoral candidates whose dissertation focuses on some aspect of the phenomenon of anti-Semitism.
Full information on the actives of the Center, as well as a list of its publications, conferences, lectures, and seminars can be found on the Center's website.
A link to the Felix Posen Bibliographic Database on Antisemitism and a host of streaming audio and videos files of lectures and conferences are available online.
The Center has produced numerous publications,[2] including book-length studies, collections of papers presented at conferences, occasional papers, and a journal.
Published in conjunction with academic publishing houses or under the imprint of the Center, the titles in this series have covered a wide range of topics. A full list of the Center's publications is available at the website.
Published titles include:
Upcoming volumes (2010) include:
The ACTA series is an annual report from a special SICSA research unit that provides in-depth analysis of current trends in anti-Semitism and explores the influence of anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist ideology on public opinion, and the arts, mass media, and political movements. Papers in this series are available in print and online.
As a supplement to the ACTA series, the Posen Papers aim to provide a more rapid response to issues of global anti-Semitism. The series is available in print and online.
This semi-annual research journal focuses on topics of current importance as they relate to anti-Semitism and provides information on the activities of the Center. It is available in print and online.
In 1984, the Center initiated a bibliographic project on anti-Semitism. It comprises the most comprehensive computerized database of works published in most English and most European languages about anti-Semitism throughout the world in every period, including the events of the Holocaust [7] [8]. Each entry is accompanied by an English abstract.
A massive and increasing number of books and articles have been written on the topic since 1945; whether popular or scholarly, descriptive or interpretative. Prior to the establishment of the bibliographic project these publications were not listed in a way that permitted optimal use of them by scholars and students, as well as to enhance public awareness of the subject.
For the purpose of the bibliography, anti-Semitism is defined as antagonism toward Jews and Judaism as expressed in writings (i.e. in religious texts, polemical literature, and works of fiction), in the visual arts (i.e. art, caricatures, posters, and film), and in actions (i.e. massacres and pogroms, discriminatory legislation, and the Holocaust).
The online data base is accessible through the Israel University Inter-Library Network and the Center’s website(go to “search the bibliography”). It also appears as a series of printed volumes entitled Antisemitism — An Annotated Bibliography published by K. G. Saur Verlag, Munich, Germany.
Throughout the academic year, the Center sponsors international conferences on such topics as Demonizing the Other and Antisemitism and Multiculturalism. A number of lectures and presentations from its conferences are available as streaming audio and/or video files on the Center’s website.
Monthly lectures on topics currently researched by scholars supported by or affiliated with the Center are held on the Hebrew University campus.