Sefer Announces Annual International Conference “Wisdom – Righteousness – Holiness in Slavic and Jewish Cultural Tradition”

Dear Colleagues,

We are glad to inform you about the International Conference “Wisdom – Righteousness – Holiness in Slavic and Jewish Cultural Tradition” to be held in Moscow at the Institute for Slavic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences at the early December, 2010.

The Organizers: Sefer Center, Institute for Slavic Studies of Russian Academy of Sciences, Joint.

This year’s conference is the thirteenth meeting of scholars from the CIS and Baltic States, Europe, USA and Israel which is held in the framework of the research project “Slavic and Jewish Cultures: Dialogue, Similarities, Differences” developed from 1995 and devoted to comparative study of Jewish and Slavic cultures and traditions. During the last few years several International conferences were organized in Moscow (and the proceedings of the conferences were published):

The Creation of the World and the Beginning of Human History in Apocrypha and Folklore Traditions based on Slavic and Jewish texts (1995);

From Genesis to Exodus. The Reflection of Biblical Motifs in Slavic and Jewish Folk Culture (1997);

The Concept of Sin as Reflected in Slavic and Jewish Tradition and Folk Culture (1999);

The Concept of Miracle as Reflected in Slavic and Jewish Tradition and Folk Culture (2000);

Between Two Worlds: Demonology in Jewish and Slavic Cultural Tradition (Moscow, November 2001);

Close or Alien? Jews and Slaws in Mutual Reception. X–XX Centuries (2002);

Festival – Rite – Ritual in the Slavic and Jewish Cultural Tradition (2003);

Feast and Meal in the Slavic and Jewish Cultural Tradition (2005);

Dreams and Visions in Slavic and Jewish Cultural Tradition (2005 );

Folk Medicine and Magic in Slavic and Jewish Cultural Tradition (2006);

Sacred Space in Slavic and Jewish Cultural Tradition (2007);

History – Myth – Folklore in Slavic and Jewish Cultural Tradition (2008);

Dialogue of Generations in the Context of Slavic and Jewish Cultural Traditions (2009, the volume of proceedings has been issued. Conference participates will have an opportunity to get ackuainted with the book.

In the framework of the conference “Wisdom – righteousness – holiness in Slavic and Jewish Cultural tradition” these categories are planned to be discussed as a cultural concept. We would like also to highlight unique and specific features of each tradition, as well as examples of interaction between cultures. The topics reflecting the comparative aspects of the problem are highly welcome.

The conference language is Russian, but English presentations are also possible (with no translation).

Presentations are limited to 20 min.

The full program will be available at the website www.sefer.ru a week before the conference opening.

The papers will be published in the conference proceedings in the language they are presented.

The conference organizers provide accommodation for participants from the CIS and Baltic countries (all tax are included, according to the Russian legislation). Those who would like to arrive earlier or leave later shall pay for the additional days by themselves. The transport expenses are not reimbursed.

We will inform you about other organizational details including the exact dates of the conference in the letter which confirms including of the presentation into the conference program.

Looking forward to seeing you at the conference!