Next year, 2016, marks the 500th anniversary of the institution of the Venice ghetto. Many events and initiatives are planned.
One of them is a conference in Venice in May — we are happy to forward the call for papers, whose deadline is December 15.
The Birth and Evolution of the Venetian Ghetto (1516-1797)
An international conference organized by the Medici Archive Project, Beit Venezia, and the Committee for the 500th Anniversary of the Venetian Ghetto
Venice, 5 6 May 2016
On 29 March 1516, the Senate of the Venetian Republic established the world’s first ghetto. Relatively far from the city’s political and financial centers—but still within the urban perimeter—the area of the geto (literally “the foundry” in Venetian dialect) was originally conceived as a residence for Jews from northeastern Europe who were obliged to observe rules of separation and socioeconomic marginalization. A few decades later, Jews from the
Iberian Peninsula and the Levant also living in Venice were forced to move into the Ghetto and undergo the same restrictions. In spite of the growing number of repressive measures aimed at making a clear distinction between Jews and Christians, rules and regulations set forth by the Venetian authorities were often disregarded and the Venetian Ghetto eventually went on to become a global epicenter of cultural, economic and intellectual discourse.
The main aim of this conference is to draw attention to the interstices that linked (and
divided) norm and praxis, in particular through addressing various interdisciplinary thematic
areas. The following are some suggested research topics:
● Material and mercantile culture
● Diplomacy and information networks
● Transnational Jewish identities
● Languages and linguistic contamination
● Scientific and medical knowledge
● Visual and performing arts
● Cultural brokerage and mediation
● Books and print culture
● Conversion, apostasy and spiritual hybridity
● Heterodoxy, messianic culture and pseudoMessianism
● Rabbinical tradition and liturgy
● Culinary culture
● Urban and domestic spaces
● Gender roles and identity
Prospective participants should send a 350word abstract of a 20-minute paper written in either English or Italian along with a two-page CV to mancuso@medici.org and
conference@medici.org by 15 December 2015.
