Alexander Orbach, associate professor emeritus of Jewish Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, will speak on "Creating the Modern State of Israel: The intersection of Jewish life with International Politics."
The lecture will be on November 29 at 12:15 p.m. in Crawford 104.
Professor Orbach?s teaching focused on the experience of modern Jewry in the 19th and 20th century in both European and Near Eastern settings.
He has published on Russian Jewry, Zionism and Israel and antisemitism. Currently, he studying aspects of Jewish politics in Tsarist Russia in the 1905-1914 period and the broader issue of dual loyalty as it has challenged modern Jewry in the post-Emancipation era.
As part of the Teaching International initiative, Penn State Greater Allegheny has adopted each year a country or region of the world, and a theme, as a common focus to inspire teaching and scholarship. The region for the 2011-2012 academic year is the Middle East and the theme is the Millenium Development Goals. Teaching International works closely with the campus sustainability project, Greener Allegheny, and the Honors Program to sponsor events that raise awareness of these global issues.
Orbach's talk is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Nancy Conway (412-675-9143 or [email protected]).