The Past, Present, and Future of Jewish History will gather twenty prominent Jewish historians to discuss a series of pressing questions pertaining to the recent evolution and future development of Jewish history as a field of scholarly inquiry. Ranging from the metahistorical to the methodological, the questions address how Jews have navigated the vexed relationship between tradition and modernity, assimilation and dissimilation, place and mobility, radicalism and conservatism, acceptance and antisemitism, diaspora and nationhood, power and powerlessness, structure and agency, and universalism and particularism. In exploring these and other universal themes, the symposium seeks to underscore the importance of Jewish history to the study of the humanities.

The sessions include: “What is Jewish about Jewish History?,” “How Significant is Antisemitism in Jewish History?,”  “Who Counts in Jewish History?,” “Is Israeli History Jewish History?,”  and “What is the Future of Jewish History?”

The Past, Present, and Future of Jewish History is the latest symposium in the Center for Jewish History’s Jewish Public History Forum which, since its founding in 2023, has convened numerous public symposia on historical issues of contemporary relevance.   

Organized with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.