The Shalom Hartman Institute’s 24th International Philosophy Conference, being held June 20-June 23, 2010, (8-11 Tammuz 5770) is titled, "Expanding the Religious Community," and will examine the concept of "universal religiosity."
The Philosophy Conference brings together leading philosophers for an intense dialogue between Jewish tradition and the modern intellectual world. Drawing upon the sources of Jewish thought and general philosophy, the conference provides an interdisciplinary intellectual interchange that enriches both traditions. At each conference, participants are called upon to deal with contemporary moral and political issues facing the Jewish people and the world-at-large.
This year’s conference will address such questions as:
Is there a notion of universal religiosity?
Is the non-Jew a person of religious importance?
The conference will discuss texts that tend to expand and challenge the concept of the religious community and create some sense of a community outside the particular. Participants will explore the concept of citizenship and membership in halakha, law, and political philosophy.
Sessions will examine recent philosophical works and look at the way religious texts affect the political and social environment, as well as the Arab-Israeli conflict. Hartman Institute scholars giving major presentations include Institute President Donniel Hartman, Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi, Moshe Halbertal, and Eli Schonfeld .
Also lecturing are:
Avishay Braverman, Israeli Minister in Charge of Minorities: "Minorities in the State of Israel"
Said Zeedani, professor of philosophy at Al Quds University: "The Israeli-Arab Experience"
Sanford Levinson, professor of government at University of Texas Law School: "What We Owe the Stranger: Some Insights from American Constitutional Law"
The conference is closed, but one lecture related to the conference theme is open to the public, the Robert Kogod Annual Lecture. This year’s lecture will be delivered June 22, 2010, by Prof. Michael Walzer of the Institute for Advanced Study. His title is "The State of Israel – What It Means to be Sovereign."
Participants from overseas include:
Ted Cohen, University of Chicago
George Fletcher, Columbia Law School
Miriam Galston, George Washington University
William Galston, Brookings Institution
Michael Harris, London School of Jewish Studies
Lawrence Kaplan, McGill University
Barry Kogan, Hebrew Union College
Berel Lange, Wesleyan University
Sanford Levinson, University of Texas Law School
Judith Lichtenberg, University of Maryland
David Luban, Georgetown University
Jonathan Malino, Guilford College
Charles Manekin, University of Maryland
Nancy Sherman, Georgetown University
Josef Stern, University of Chicago
Eleonore Stump, Saint Louis University
Michael Walzer, Institute for Advanced Study
Howard Wettstein, University of California
Participants from Israel include:
Daniel Attas, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Shalom Hartman Institute
Yitzhak Benbaji, Bar-Ilan University, Shalom Hartman Institute
Yossi David, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Avital Davidovich-Eshed, Shalom Hartman Institute
David Dishon, Shalom Hartman Institute
Yair Eldan, Shalom Hartman Institute
Yakir Englander, Shalom Hartman Institute
Moshe Halbertal, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Shalom Hartman Institute
David Hartman, Shalom Hartman Institute
Donniel Hartman, Shalom Hartman Institute
Zev Harvey, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Ronit Ir-Shay, Bar-Ilan University, Shalom Hartman Institute
Rut Kara-Ivanov Kaniel, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Shalom Hartman Institute
Menachem Kellner, University of Haifa
Menachem Lorberbaum, Tel Aviv University, Shalom Hartman Institute
Yair Lorberbaum, Bar-Ilan University, Shalom Hartman Institute
Ariel Meirav, University of Haifa
Rachel Sabath-Beit Halachmi, Hebrew Union College, Shalom Hartman Institute
Eli Schonfeld, Shalom Hartman Institute
Saul Smilansky, University of Haifa
Daniel Statman, University of Haifa
Naomi Sussman, Shalom Hartman Institute
Gil Troy, McGill University, Shalom Hartman Institute
Hami Verbin, Tel Aviv University, Shalom Hartman Institute
Shira Wolosky, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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