“De-Integration: The Making and Breaking of Jewish Identity in a Post-Migrant Germany” virtual lecture by Max Czollek. Part of Campus Week 2021, “Resistance, Recovery, Revival – Modern Jewish Life in Germany and Beyond.

German and Jewish poet Max Czollek is the acclaimed author of the bestseller “Desintegriert Euch” and the more recent “Gegenwartsbewältigung,” both of which examine the actuality of modern Jewish life in Germany. His books, which critically analyze German representations of the federal republic’s Jewish minority, have sparked an important debate in German-speaking countries and beyond.

The last years mark an arrival of new discussions about what it means to be Jewish in today’s Germany. This shift has been inspired by a change of generation, the vast Jewish migration from the former Soviet Union and other countries and shifting discourses on identity, discrimination and self-determination. A considerable part of this reassessment is taking place in and with the field of cultural production. In his talk “De-Integration: The Making and Breaking of Jewish Identity in a Post-Migrant Germany,” Max Czollek is trying to lay out a few of the major tenets of this development and the situation German Jews are facing today.

You can find more information about Max Czollek in this New York Times feature about him and his work.

Register for the event on Zoom. For more information, visit the Center for Jewish Studies’ website here.

About Campus Week 2021 – “Resistance, Recovery, Revival – Modern Jewish Life in Germany and Beyond”
This year’s campus week will focus on illuminating for a North American audience the long history of Jewish life in German-speaking countries as well as the many important contributions of Jewish citizens to all aspects of contemporary life in Europe and beyond. We want to amplify contemporary Jewish voices, center their experiences living in today’s Germany, and connect German Jewish life to the experiences of Jews and other marginalized groups in the United States. Our goal is to bridge current national and international discourses about national and personal identity, integration, memory, and community, and to create opportunities for participants to engage across national, generational, racial, and ethnic lines.

Campus Week features the November 8th Panel on Multicultural Memory: Remembering Across Jewish Cultures and Beyond and the opening of the exhibit 1,700 Years of Jewish Life in Germany Poster Exhibition; a screening of the film Masel Tov Cocktail followed by Q&A with Director Arkadij Khaet on Wednesday, November 10th; and, a virtual lecture by Max Czollek, author of the bestseller “Desintegriert Euch” and the more recent “Gegenwartsbewältigung” on Thursday, November 11th.

This event series is part of the US-wide Campus Week initiative and is generously sponsored by the German Embassy with $3300. Support was also received from NEH Professor Kate Zubko and Carol G. Belk Distinguished Professor Mark Gibney as well as the Center for Jewish Studies.

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