Isaac Weiner, professor in the Department of Comparative Studies, and Robin Judd, professor in the Department of History, give a lecture titled "Constructing Norms, Contesting Boundaries: A Conversation about Community and Scholarship."
In this joint inaugural lecture, Professors Judd and Weiner will engage each other in conversation about common themes and questions that animate their respective research. Judd, a historian of modern Jewish life, and Weiner, a scholar of American religious studies, are both interested in how communities, whether imagined in religious, racial, or national terms, construct and contest norms of practice and identity. In different ways, their research centers particular cases and controversies through which communities have negotiated terms of membership, and each considers how different forms of regulatory and disciplinary power have shaped these exchanges. By offering examples from their research, service, and teaching, their joint presentation will also attend to their shared theoretical and methodological influences, not the least of which is a commitment to scholarly collaboration and conversation.
Inaugural lectures celebrate Arts and Humanities faculty who have been promoted to the rank of professor. All lectures are held in the Faculty Club Grand Lounge from 4-6 p.m. and are preceded by a reception and followed by Q&A and discussion. All lectures are free and open to the public.
The Arts and Humanities Inaugural Lecture Series is sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences.
