The Lillian and Marvin Goldblatt Jewish Studies Lectures
In 2002, McMaster President, Peter George, announced a donation by Marvin Goldblatt, a local philanthropist, to support an annual Jewish lectures in perpetuity. In recognition of this wonderful gift, the lecture series is now named The Lillian and Marvin Goldblatt Jewish Studies Lectures. We want to extend our profound appreciation to Marvin Goldblatt and his family for this unprecedented gift.
This speaker series was established in 2002. Past lectures have been:
- Singer-songwriter Psoy Korolenko (Moscow – New York) and historian Anna Shternshis (University of Toronto): "Singing and Laughing Against Fascism: Lost and Found Soviet Yiddish Songs of World War II" (2019)
- Dr. Faydra Shapiro, the Executive Director of the Israel Center for Jewish-Christian Relations in the Galilee and Associate Fellow at The Philos Project "Holy Ambivalence: Jewish-Evangelical Relations and Why They Matter" (2017)
- Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett (New York University): "Creating POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews" (2016)
- Shaul Kelner (Vanderbilt University): “Shaping Jewish Identity Through Mass Tourism: How Do (or Don’t) ‘Birthright Israel’ Trips Actually Work?” (2014)
- Rebecca Stein (Duke University) “Digital Politics: How Social Media is Controlling the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” (2013)
- Samuel Heilman (Queen’s College, City University of New York) “Lubavitch, Messianism and the Denial of Death” (2012)
- 2011 cancelled
- Lawrence H. Schiffman (New York University): “Scrolling Through Scripture: The Bible and its Interpretation in the Dead Sea Scrolls” (2009)
- Lee Levine (Hebrew University): “Why is the Greek Sun-god (Helios) Depicted in Ancient Synagogue Mosaics?” (2008)
- Susannah Heschel (Dartmouth College): “Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity: Reflections on the Life and Thought of Abraham Joshua Heschel” (2007)
- Elliot R. Wolfson (New York University): “Picturing God: Representation of the Divine Body in Medieval Kabbalah” (2006)
- David Biale (University of California, Davis): “From Blood Libel to Blood Community: An Untold Chapter in Modern Jewish Culture” (2005)
- Judith Baskin (University of Oregon): “Dying for God: Piety and Gender in Jewish Medieval Martyrdom Narratives” (2004)
- Michael Marrus (University of Toronto): “Jacques Maritain, the Vatican, and the Holocaust: A Plea Unanswered” (2003)
- Reuven Firestone (Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles): “Divine Authority and Mass Violence: Holy War in Judaism, Christianity and Islam” (2002)