Global Antisemitism: A Crisis of Modernity (Part 2)

Title: “Global Antisemitism: A Crisis of Modernity” (Part 2) Date: November 12, 2013 Speaker: Dr. Charles Asher Small Affiliation: Founder and Executive Director, Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA Description: This is the second installment of "Global Antisemitism: A Crisis of Modernity," a lecture given by Dr. Charles Asher Small at Harvard University. Dr. Small maintains that the Academy has failed to condemn the rise of Islamism, especially in relation to its lack of acceptance of the "Other," as seen, for example, in its vitriolic prejudice against the Jewish people, as well as its lack of basic notions of human rights and democratic principles. Dr. Small asserts that intellectuals, such as Edward Sayid, who attempt to undermine the legitimacy of Jewish self-determination, the State of Israel and Jewish historical narratives in the diaspora, need to be critically examined with regard to the role of the reemergence of antisemitism among intellectuals in the Academy. He goes on to assert that despite the Academy's preoccupation with colonialism, racism, sexism, and socio-economic inequalities, antisemitism - especially in the contemporary context - does not exist as an area of study in the mainstream academic curriculum and continues to be disregarded as a legitimate and necessary field of study.