THE GREAT SCHOLARS SERIES

HEBREW UNION COLLEGE-JEWISH INSTITUTION OF RELIGION AND FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY PRESENT SERIES ON THE MIDDLE EAST

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, in partnership with Florida Atlantic University, will present the 2004 Great Scholars Series, “The Middle East: Region of Many People with One Beginning.” This dynamic eight- week series of lectures will examine the many cultural facets that are shared by Jews, Muslims, and Christians throughout the region.

Faculty from both institutions will provide in-depth lectures on the religion, history, art, literature, politics, lifestyles, and music of the Middle East. The series will be offered through the Lifelong Learning Society beginning Tuesday, January 13 on the Boca Raton campus, and Wednesday, January 14 on the MacArthur campus in Jupiter.

Dr. Reuven Firestone, Professor of Medieval Judaism and Islam, HUC-JIR/Los Angeles, will open the series on Jan 13 and 14 with his discussion of Judaism and Islam: What We Share-How We Differ. Dr. Firestone directs the Edgar I. Magnin School for Graduate Studies and the Jerome Loucheim School of Judaic Studies. He has written books and articles on Judaism, Islam, and comparative studies of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The series also includes:
January 20/21:
Dr. Adam Rubin, Assistant Professor of Jewish History, HUC-JIR/Los Angeles: "Israel and Its Arab Neighbors: New Historical Perspectives.” Dr. Rubin teaches Jewish history and literature at HUC-JIR and the University of Southern California. He specializes in the history of Jewish culture and politics in Eastern Europe and pre-state Palestine during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

January 27/28:
Dr. David Courtney, Associate Professor of the History of Art and Art Criticism, FAU:
“Hebrew Mysticism in Art and Music.” A Morton J. Levy research fellow, Dr. Courtney specializes in contemporary European and American art and is published widely in Europe and America.

February 3/4
Paul Liptz, Coordinator of Israel Studies, HUC-JIR/Jerusalem:
“Ethnicity and Religion in the Modern Middle East.” Mr. Liptz is also a member of the faculty, Department of Middle Eastern and African History, Tel Aviv University. He specializes in Jewish, Middle Eastern, and European topics and lectures around the world.

February 10/11
Dr. Alan Berger, Raddock Eminent Scholar Chair for Holocaust Studies; Director of the Holocaust and Judaic Studies B.A. Program and the Center for the Study of Values and Violence after Auschwitz, FAU:
“Sacred Texts and Their Legacy for All.” Dr. Berger and his wife, Naomi, edited Second Generation Voices: Reflections by Children of Holocaust Survivors and Perpetrators.

February 17/18
Rabbi Kurt E. Stone, Instructor, Lifelong Learning Society, FAU:
“Leaders in the Middle East.” Rabbi Stone was ordained at HUC-JIR in 1980 and has been a South Florida rabbi for more than 20 years. A noted writer and lecturer in the fields of politics, history, and biography, Rabbi Stone is the author of The Congressional Minyan: The Jews of Capitol Hill.

February 24/25
Dr. Walid Phares, Associate Professor and Director of the Johnston-Chastain Project in Middle East Studies, FAU:
“Pluralism in the Middle East: Myth or Reality?” The author of books and scholarly articles, Dr. Phares is a recognized international expert on the Middle East Region and lectures worldwide.

March 2/3
Dr. Mark Kligman, Associate Professor of Jewish Musicology, HUC-JIR/New York.
“The Music of Jews and Arabs in the Middle East: A Common Language.”
Dr. Kligman’s expertise as an ethnomusicologist is in the Liturgical Traditions of Middle Eastern communities.

Tuesday lectures will be held in the Barry and Florence Friedberg Life-Long Learning Center from 1:30 -3:15 p.m. on the Boca Raton campus. Wednesday lectures will be held in the Administration Building Auditorium on the MacArthur campus in Jupiter from 2:30 -4:15 p.m. Registration is $55 for Lifelong Learning Society members and $75 for non-members. To request a winter class schedule call (561) 297-3171 in Boca Raton or (561) 799-8667 in Jupiter.