Jewish Journeys

International conference organised by the Isaac and Jesse Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies and Research, University of Cape Town, and the Parkes Institute, University of Southampton. Read the full conference report.

In 2003 and 2005 the Kaplan and Parkes centres held two highly successful major international conferences devoted to Port Jews at UCT, following an earlier conference at Southampton in 2001. The focus of these conferences moved from the concept of Port Jews in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries through to the wider applicability of this concept across border chronologies, and, finally, the concept of place identity in relation to migration more generally in the Jewish experience.

These earlier events provided detailed case studies and theoretical insights into the Jewish experience, but also highlighted gaps in our present understanding. Perhaps the most important of these was the lack of knowledge about migratory journeys to places of crucial importance to the emergence of new Jewish communities, or the transformation of previously existing communities. Moreover, there was recognition that the significance of Jewish journeys – practical, intellectual and religious – had been up till now ignored in the scholarly context.

We issued a call for interdisciplinary papers (e.g. history, literature, the sociology of genealogy, philosophy, theology, Jewish Studies, Bible Studies), inviting a wide range of perspectives drawing on ancient through modern traditions. The setting of Cape Town was ideal for the subject matter of this conference. Papers with a particular focus on journeys to and within South Africa were particularly welcome.

Conference organisers:

University of Cape Town: Professor Milton Shain

University of Southampton: Professor Tony Kushner and Dr Sarah Pearce