NEH Summer Institute
11 July-15 August, 2006
Oxford, England
Director: Irven M. Resnick (University of Tennessee at Chattanooga)
Cover photo from Heinz Schreckenberg, The Jews in Christian Art (originally published as Die Juden in der Kunst Europas. Ein Bildatlas
Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1996; reproduced by permission). A painting by the "Master of the Ursula Legend" (late 15th Century), depicting synagoga, with eyes covered, in an oriental turban.
Visiting Faculty:
Description:
Although in the early Middle Ages ‘otherness’ had
largely been defined
in terms of language, custom, law, or religion, by the fourteenth
century other features emerge as the basis of group
identity, creating a seemingly insurmountable obstacles to assimilation
and
acculturation.
These new constructions of ‘otherness’ may help explain the
deteriorating
status of Jewish (and Muslim) communities in Europe, which led to the
eventual
expulsion from most lands in Christendom of those who refused baptism.
Even baptism, however, could not wash away this newly established sense
of difference: in Spain after 1492 Moriscos and Conversos
(i.e. recent Muslim and Jewish converts to Christianity) remained under
suspicion and were subject to discrimination under a series of statutes
relating to purity of blood, perhaps anticipating modern racial
conceptions.
This evolution of medieval European conceptions
of ‘otherness’ and the various efforts of contemporary scholars to
explain
it will constitute the field of study for this institute.
Treating
the experience of Jews as paradigmatic, ‘otherness’ will be examined
across
a number of disciplines: history, philosophy, theology, canon law,
literature,
and art history.
Program Venue and Size: 
Twenty-five college and university faculty
members will be
selected
to participate in the program. Each participant will receive a $3600
stipend
to help defray expenses. The program will be conducted at the
Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies (OCHJS). Located on its own
campus
in Yarnton, four miles from the center of Oxford, OCHJS is an
independent
academic post-graduate institution associated with the University of
Oxford.
(For OCHJS web site, see http://associnst.ox.ac.uk/ochjs.)
Its campus offers a modern library with more than 40,000 volumes,
common
rooms, and housing. Since the academic year at OCHJS will already have
ended, institute participants will share the OCHJS campus only with its
permanent and visiting fellows.
Libraries:
Institute participants will have the status of
visiting faculty
members,
enabling them to obtain privileges at Oxford's Bodleian library
and
related university libraries. Library hours during the summer months,
when
the university is not in session, are generally shortened. The Leopold
Muller Memorial Library
at OCHJS is open Monday-Friday from 10:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M.,
although
institute
participants should be able to check out books to their rooms to assist
their research. The university Bodleian library is open Monday-Friday
from
9:00 A.M. until 7:00 P.M., and from 9:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. on
Saturdays,
with the exception of the August Bank Holiday Weekend. Individual
college libraries are closed or maintain irregular hours outside
the academic term. Participants who wish to examine materials in
college
libraries are advised to make an appointment with the college
librarian.
Successful candidates who wish access to Oxford University libraries
should
notify the program director by 1 June, and should bring several
passport
photos with them to Oxford. As a group, we'll visit Bodleian offices to
obtain readers' cards.
Schedule:
Lecture-discussions and seminars will meet
Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday, and Friday. Wednesdays are reserved for optional meetings,
trips,
and group discussion with visiting faculty, or may be designated for
private
research and reading in the University libraries. On typical
Monday
and Friday mornings, presentations will be scheduled from 9:30-10:15,
followed
by a short break, with discussion continuing from 10:30 to noon.
Tuesday
and Thursday meetings will be held from 9:30-11:30 and 1:00-3:00.
Please note that our program calendar overlaps with some sessions
scheduled at the International Medieval Congress in Leeds, which meets
from 10-13 July 2006 (see http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ims/imc/imc2006.html).
If you plan to attend the Congress, or to deliver a paper, please be
sure to arrange your schedule so that you will be available for our
formal meetings beginning on the morning of 12 July.
Housing:
All of Ricardo House, the graduate student residence
at
OCHJS, has been reserved for participants. It contains sixteen private
rooms
arranged
in four suites. Each suite consists of four comfortable private
bedrooms
around a shared kitchen and bath. These rooms are fairly large (about
15’X20’),
fully furnished with bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers, desk and desk
chair,
an easy chair, and bathroom sink. For photos of Ricardo House rooms, click here. The rooms also have a telephone.
Internal
calls are free; local calls outside OCHJS cost 6 pence/minute (this is
standard; even private homes pay a per minute telephone charge).
Each cluster of 4 bedrooms shares a kitchen equipped
with a microwave, full-sized electric range with oven, and a
refrigerator
with freezer. They also share a bath, equipped with toilet, tub and
hand-held shower.
On each floor
there is a large common room with a dining
table and chairs,
easy chairs, and a television (although cable TV is not available in
Yarnton).
Sheets and towels will be exchanged weekly, and maid service will be
provided
twice each week All pots, pans, utensils, plates,
etc. are provided for cooking. Rooms will be made available to
participants
at a reduced rate of £1000 (approximately $1765; exchange rates
will fluctuate) for the entire
five-week
period. Laundry facilities are
available
on site.
We have made arrangements to pay for
housing at OCHJS simply by deducting the cost from your stipend. This
will
save individual participants both the bother and the considerable
expense
of purchasing a money order in pounds (£).
If you would like to reside at OCHJS (which I
strongly recommend),
I will need to know no later than 1 May, 2006. This gives you
approximately
one month to explore other options, should you choose to do so.
Check-in will be on 11 July between 9:00 A.M and
12:30
P.M. and 2:00 and 4:30 P.M. at the OCHJS reception office in the manor
house. If you would like to arrive in Oxford or Yarnton before 11
July, please contact the institute director. If you would
like
to spend a night (or more) in London before or after our program, you
should
inquire about housing for academics at Goodenough Club (at the London
Goodenough
Trust). Consult the trust’s web site at http://www.lgt.org.uk,
or write the club directly at club@goodenough.ac.uk.
Participants, whenever possible, are strongly
encouraged
to remain on the OCHJS campus. Most of our housing at OCHJS,
however, is intended for singles. Although the program director can
offer some
assistance
in locating off-campus housing, participants who plan to bring family
members
should attempt to make their own arrangements. Please consult the
classified
ads in the university’s Oxford Gazette at http://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette
(Click on “Weekly Issues,” select a week, and then click on
“Advertisements:
Houses—or flats—to Let”). You’ll also find some links for short term
rentals
at http://www.oxfordcity.co.uk/accom/property.html.
Please be advised, however, that summer rentals in Oxford can be
expensive.
If you require family housing, or would prefer to live away from the
OCHJS
campus, you may also wish to consult one of the many rental agents in
the
Oxford area. For a list with web site addresses, click here.
You may also want to check classified ads in Oxford newspapers; you can
access property listings and obtain other information by exploring http://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk.
Finally, you'll find a number of listings of flats or houses to
rent
at http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk.
Just as housing in Oxford can be very expensive,
so too restaurants and groceries will be more expensive than what one
encounters
in most cities in the U.S. As a rule of thumb, you may expect that most
grocery items and restaurants will cost 25%-50% more than you might
expect
to pay at home.
Computer Facilities:
It is recommended that institute participants bring
laptop
computers. OCHJS is working to become a completely wireless campus.
Participants will be able to access the
internet or web-based e-mail from anywhere on campus. Participants
without a laptop will have access to computers in the
library at OCHJS. However, participants should
understand
that computer facilities on-site likely do not equal those at their
home
institutions.
Travel:
Successful applicants must have a passport, valid
for at least six
months beyond the end date of our program. Each participant will
arrange
travel to England independently. The nearest airports are London’s
Heathrow
and Gatwick. Alternatively, it is possible to fly to Manchester,
although
the ground travel time will be somewhat longer than from London. I
would
recommend that you consider flights to Manchester only if you find that
fares are less expensive than those to London. For directions to
Yarnton
from London airports, click here for directions from Heathrow;
click here for directions from Gatwick
North or here for Gatwick
South. Oxford Bus Company express buses leave every 20 minutes from
Heathrow Airport, 24 hours each day, and every hour from Gatwick
Airport. For airport bus information for Oxford or from central
London, see the
Oxford Bus Company. For bus service between Oxford and central
London, see the Oxford Tube
for times and fares. The trip requires about 1 hour and 45 minutes
each
way, depending on traffic. It is also possible to rent a car at the
airport
or to travel from London to Oxford by train, although trains
depart
less frequently.
Upon first arrival at Oxford’s Gloucester Green bus
terminal, we
recommend
that participants take a taxi to OCHJS in Yarnton. Tell the taxi driver
to drop you at Yarnton Manor, on Church Lane in Yarnton (a distance of
5-6 miles). The fare will be around £12. City buses also travel
from
Oxford to Yarnton, although the nearest stop is perhaps ¼ mile
away
from OCHJS accommodations. For bus and rail travel timetables, fares,
and routes in and to Oxford, click here.
OCHJS also runs a shuttle bus service from
its
campus to stops in Oxford; participants will be provided with an
unlimited ride pass. For the summer
shuttle
timetable, click here. Even with
bus
and shuttle service, however, participants should be prepared regularly
to walk distances of ¼ mile or more.
Car Rental and Rail
Passes
If you plan to rent a car in England, let me advise
you to make
arrangements
before you leave the States—you’ll usually find a better rate. You
might
check http://www.europcar.com
for
competitive rates. If you are planning weekend touring during your stay
in England, you can find information about rail passes and other travel
information at http://www.raileurope.com/us/index.htm.
Banking
For a short stay, it does not make sense to open a
local bank account
(the process can take weeks!). Instead, I would recommend using a debit
card to obtain cash from an ATM machine. These machines are ubiquitous.
In England, banks cannot charge a fee when you use a debit card from
another
bank; your home banking institution may do so, however. You should
check
with your bank to determine the amount of the fee, and your daily
withdrawal
limit. Also, make certain that your card can be used at overseas
locations.
Typically, exchange rates when using an ATM card are quite favorable.
Another option is to purchase Travellers Checks in
£. A bank
will cash them, as will currency exchange windows. Some retail outlets
will not accept them, however, making them less useful than the debit
card.
Even those outlets that do accept travellers checks will require
proof(s)
of identification.
Cultural
Events
Although OCHJS is located outside the city of
Oxford, a fifteen minute
bus ride delivers the visitor to the city's center. Even during summer
break,
Oxford is a busy, vibrant city with many entertainment opportunities.
For
a quick look at Oxford's offerings, see the Oxford Visitor's Guide at http://www.oxfordcity.co.uk.
In addition, we plan various gatherings and social events for institute
participants on the OCHJS campus. Although there are no athletic
facilities
on the campus, there are extensive gardens, as well as paths for
walking and biking.
Welcome
Gathering:
I have planned a welcome gathering for all
participants on 11 July at 6:00
PM at the Manor House in Yarnton. There, you’ll meet Peter Oppenheimer,
President of the Centre, as well as the other participants. You’ll
also
learn more about our schedule and program at that time. Other social
events
are also being considered—e.g. a bus tour of Oxford, wine
and
cheese evenings, picnics, pub tours, etc. We plan to offer a guided
tour of one of Oxford's oldest colleges, Christ Church. Also we plan to
have a walking tour of medieval Jewish Oxford. If you have any
particular
requests
or suggestions for such events, please let me know.
Useful
Telephone Numbers
The telephone number for the administrative offices
at OCHJS is (01865)
377946. Note that when calling from the U.S., you must first dial the
international
code (011), then the country code, (44), then the city code (01865),
followed
by the local number 377946. When calling from the U.S., omit the “0” in
the city code (01865). The FAX number at OCHJS is (01865) 375079.
Climate
The average Oxford temperature during July and
August is 16°
Celsius,
or about 66° F. This is an average of daytime and overnight
temperatures.
Most days will be between 65° F-75° F; most nights temperatures
will fall to 55° F-60° F. But be advised that England does
occasionally
suffer a heat wave (temperatures in the 80s or even 90s), and most
buildings
are not air conditioned, including those at OCHJS. Be certain to bring
a light jacket, an umbrella, and comfortable walking shoes. Also,
although
you should dress for comfort, note too that at the university libraries
you will likely receive looks of disapproval if you wear a tank top,
shorts,
and sneakers.
Medical
Insurance
Participants should make certain that they have
adequate medical
insurance
coverage for travel to England. Many HMO plans provide coverage only
for
emergency room treatment. However, several insurers provide special
riders
or medical plans for travelers. For an example of such a plan, see STA
Travel
Additional
Information
Additional travel instructions, as well as
specific information
on the program syllabus, will be provided on this site in the next few
months. In the interim, please direct questions to Professor Irven M.
Resnick
via e-mail (Irven-Resnick@UTC.EDU)
or phone (423) 425-4446; FAX (423) 425-4153.
Faculty:
Professor Jeremy Cohen (Tel
Aviv University)
Professor Daniel J. Lasker,
Norbert Blechner Professor of Jewish Values
(Ben-Gurion University of the Negev)
Associate Professor Sara Lipton
(SUNY-Stony Brook)
Professor Robert Stacey
(University of Washington)
Professor Miri Rubin (Queen
Mary, University of London)
Professor Irven Resnick
(University of Tennessee, Chattanooga)
Week I. July 11-18 Asserting Oneself through Negating the Other
Tuesday, 11 July: Evening Gathering
Morning session: Contours of the
Jewish Experience in Medieval Christendom
Read:
Afternoon session: St. Augustine and the Jew
Read:
Friday, 14 July: Jews as 'Other' in Early Medieval Europe (Jeremy Cohen)
Read:
Monday, 17 July: Monasticism and Spirituality in the Twelfth Century (Jeremy Cohen)
Read:
Tuesday, 18 July (Jeremy Cohen):
Morning session: The
High Medieval Papacy
Read:
Read:
Wednesday, 19 July: Informal Meetings
Week II. July 20-26
Read:
Friday, 21 July: Signs of Otherness in Medieval Art and Literature (Sara Lipton)
Jews in Gothic Art: Topics to be covered include typological iconography, identifying signs, Synagoga personified, host desecration imagery, Passion iconography.
Read:
Monday, 24 July: Signs
of Otherness. (Sara
Lipton).
Jews
in Gothic Art. (Continued)
Tuesday, 25 July: (Sara
Lipton)
Morning session: Representations of Heresy and Witchcraft. Topics include the visual conflation of Jews and heretics, heresy as diseaser, accusations of animal worship, sexual and gendered polemics, images of the devil.
Read:
Afternoon session: The Non-European Other. An examination of depictions of Muslims and Africans.
Read:
Wednesday, 26 July: Informal Meetings
Week III. July 27-August 2
Thursday,
27 July:
Animosity toward Jews and Popular Culture (Miri Rubin)
Morning Session: Jews at the Heart of a
Christian Worldview, 1100-1250
Read:
Afternoon session: Narrative Assaults: Murders and Desecrations
1250-1350
Friday, 28 July: Animosity toward Jews and Popular Culture (Miri Rubin)
Read:
Monday, 31 July:
Jewish-Christian Literary Polemics and Public
Disputations. The
Beginnings of the Jewish 
Critique
of Christianity (Daniel Lasker)
Read:
Tuesday, 1 August: The Transition of the Jewish critique of Christianity to Christendom. (Daniel Lasker)
Read:
Wednesday, 2 August: Public Disputations (Daniel Lasker)
Read:
Week IV. August 3-9
Thursday, August 3: Informal Meetings
Friday, 4 August: Philosophical Polemics (Daniel Lasker)
Read:
Monday, 7 August: The First Century of English Jewish History, 1066-1154 (Robert Stacey)
Read:
Tuesday, 8 August:
The Angevin Era Begins, 1154-1236 (Robert
Stacey)
Morning
Session:
Read:
Afternoon Session: The Thirteenth Century Crisis
Read:
Wednesday, 9
August: A Walking Tour of Jewish Oxford (Optional)
Week V. August 10-15
Thursday, 10 August: The Re-emergence of Ritual Crucifixion Tales (Robert Stacey)
Morning Session:
Read:
Afternoon Session: The Edwardian Experiment?
Read:
Friday, 11 August:
Antisemitism and Expulsion
Read:
Monday, 14 August: Depictions of Jews in Scientific and Medical Literature (Irven M. Resnick)
Read:
Tuesday, 15 August: Concluding session.
Summer Institutes for College and University Teachers are offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide college and university faculty members and independent scholars with an opportunity to enrich their understanding of significant ideas, texts, and topics in the humanities. Institutes focus on an intensive study of texts, topics, and ideas central to undergraduate teaching in the humanities under the guidance of faculties distinguished in their fields of scholarship. They aim to prepare participants to return to their classrooms with a deeper knowledge of current scholarship in key fields of the humanities.
Eligibility:
These projects are designed primarily for teachers
of American
undergraduate
students. Qualified independent scholars and those employed by museums,
libraries, historical societies, and other organizations may be
eligible
to compete provided they can effectively advance the teaching and
research
goals of the institute. Applicants must be United States
citizens,
residents of U.S. jurisdictions, or foreign nationals who have been
residing
in the United States or its territories for at least the three years
immediately
preceding the application deadline.
Applicants must complete the NEH application cover
sheet and provide all the information requested below to be considered
eligible. Applicants must have completed professional training by the
application
deadline. An applicant need not have an advanced degree in order to
qualify.
Candidates for degrees are generally not eligible. Adjunct and
part-time lecturers are eligible to
apply. Individuals
must not
apply to seminars directed by scholars with whom they have previously
studied, nor may one
apply to study with a director of a seminar or institute who is a
current
colleague or a family member. Individuals must not apply to seminars
directed
by scholars with whom they have previously studied. An individual may
apply
to no more than two NEH seminars or institutes in any one year.
Selection Criteria:
A selection committee will evaluate all complete
applications in order
to select the most promising applicants and to identify a small number
of alternates. The Institute selection committee consists of the
project
director and two colleagues. Selection committees are charged to give
first
consideration to applicants who have not participated in an
NEH-supported
seminar or institute in the last three years.
The most important consideration in the selection
of participants is the likelihood that an applicant will benefit
professionally.
This is determined by committee members from the conjunction of several
factors, each of which should be addressed in an application essay of
no
more than 3-4 pages. These factors include:
1. quality and commitment as a teacher, scholar, and interpreter of
the humanities;
2. intellectual interests, both generally and as they relate to the
work of the institute;
3. special perspectives, skills, or experiences that would contribute
to the institute;
4. commitment to participate fully in the formal and informal collegial
life of the institute;
5. and the likelihood that the experience will enhance the applicant's
teaching and scholarship
When choices must be made among equally qualified candidates, several additional factors are considered: preference is given to applicants who have not previously participated in an NEH seminar or institute, or who would significantly contribute to the diversity of the seminar or institute. Institute selection committees are advised that only under the most compelling and exceptional circumstances may an individual participate in an institute with a director or a lead faculty member who has previously guided that individual's research or in whose previous institute or seminar he or she has participated.
Stipend, Tenure, and Conditions of Award:
Individuals selected to participate in
five-week projects will
receive $3,600. Stipends are intended to help defray travel expenses to
and from the project location, books and other research expenses, and
living
expenses for the duration of the period spent in residence. Adjustments
in cases where the stipend is insufficient to cover all expenses are
not
possible. Institute participants may wish to apply their home
institutions
for additional travel funds, to help with the expense of travel to
England.
Institute participants are required to attend all
meetings and to engage fully in the work of the project. During the
project's
tenure, they may not undertake teaching assignments or any other
professional
activities unrelated to their participation in the project.
Participants
who, for any reason, do not complete the full tenure of the project
must
refund a pro-rata portion of the stipend.
At the end of the project's residential period,
participants will be asked to submit evaluations in which they review
their
work during the summer and assess its value to their personal and
professional
development. Special forms for this report will be distributed by each
project director. Completed forms should be returned directly to the
Endowment.
They will become part of the project's grant file and may become part
of
an application to repeat the institute.
Application Instructions:
Before completing an application, please read the letter
from the project
director that contains information about the topic under
study, and
project requirements and expectations of the participants. Information
pertaining to the the academic
and institutional setting, specific provisions for lodging,
subsistence,
and extracurricular activities, will be found there and above on this
web site.
If you cannot open this letter,
please
request a copy from the director
before you attempt to compete and submit an application. All
application
materials should be sent to the project director. Sending application
materials
and reference letters to the Endowment will result in delay. The
project director's address is:
Professor Irven M. Resnick
Department of Philosophy and Religion (Dept. #2753)
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
615 McCallie Ave.
Chattanooga, TN 37403-2598
(423) 425-4446 (voice); (423) 425-4153 (FAX)
Checklist of Application Materials:
The following items constitute a completed application to the
summer
institute:
- three copies of the completed application cover sheet,
- three copies of a detailed résumé (not to exceed 5
pages),
- three copies of an application essay as outlined below, and
- two letters of recommendation (sent separately).
The Application Essay:
The application essay should be no more than four
double-spaced pages.
This essay should include any relevant personal and academic
information.
It should address reasons for applying; the applicant's interest, both
academic and personal, in the subject to be studied; qualifications and
experiences that equip the applicant to do the work of the seminar or
institute
and to make a contribution to a learning community; a statement of what
the applicant wants to accomplish by participating; and the relation of
the project to the applicant's professional responsibilities.
Applicants
to institutes may need to elaborate on the relationship between
institute
activities and their responsibilities for teaching and curricular
development.
Reference Letters:
Two referees should be chosen carefully. They should
be familiar with
the applicant's professional accomplishments or promise, interests, and
ability to contribute to and benefit from participation in the
institute.
They should specifically address these issues in their recommendations.
Letters from colleagues who know the applicant's teaching and from
those
outside the applicant's institution who know his or her scholarship are
often more useful than letters from college or university
administrators.
Referees should be provided with copies of the director's description
of
the seminar or institute and the applicant's essay. If an applicant has
previously participated in an NEH summer seminar or institute, a
recommendation
from the director or lead scholar of that program would be useful. It
is
the applicant's responsibility to ask the referees to send their
letters
directly to the project director and to make certain that their letters
are mailed to arrive not more than one week after the March 1 deadline.
Submission of Applications and Notification of Award:
Completed applications should be submitted to the
project director
and should be postmarked no later than March 1, 2006. The application
deadline has been extended to March 15, 2006 only for individuals in
areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. For more information, click here.
Successful applicants will be notified of their selection by April
1, 2006, and they will have until April 15 to accept or decline the
offer.
Applicants who will not be home during the notification period are
advised
to provide an address and phone number where they can be reached. No
information
on the status of applications will be available prior to the official
notification
period.
Equal Opportunity Statement:
Endowment programs do not discriminate on the basis of
race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age.
For further information, write to the Equal
Opportunity Officer, National Endowment for the Humanities,
The
application cover sheet
must be filled out on line at this address: http://www.neh.gov/online/education/participants.
Please fill it
out on line as directed by the prompts. When
you are finished, be sure to click on the “submit” button. Print out the cover sheet and add it to your
application package. At this point you
will be asked if you want to apply to another project.
If you do, follow the prompts and select
another project and then print out the cover sheet for that project. Note that filling out a cover sheet is not
the same as applying, so there is no penalty for changing your mind and
filling
out cover sheets for several projects. A
full application consists of the items listed above, as sent to a
project
director.
Mark A. Amos
(Department of English,
Elizabeth Berlings
(Department of English and Speech,
Nancy Bishop (
Carlee A. Bradbury (
Joseph Byrne (Honors
Program,
Mark E. Gammon (Department of
Religion and Philosophy,
Jacqueline A. Gutwirth
(Department of History,
Karen M. Kletter
(Department of History,
Ernesto Lombeida (Department
of Foreign Languages, Arkansas State University)
Esther M. Martinez
(Department of Languages and Cultures,
Karen S. Nicholas (Department
of History,
Frances C. Novack (Department
of Modern Languages,
Merrall L. Price
(Department of English,
Paul R. Rovang (English and
Theatre Arts,
Judy Schaaf (Department of
English,
Kristine T. Utterback
(Department of History,
Nancy J. Weston (