Development Research Seminar: Dr. Joseph Massad
18 Dec 2009 (16:00 - 17:30 hrs)
Forget Semitism: Perspectives on race and religion in the Israeli-Palestinian impasse
The lecture will discuss the centrality of Semitism as a formative discourse and will question the chronological claim that it was followed by anti-Semitism. The paper will claim that in fact Semitism was always anti-Semitism conceptually and chronologically. Edward Said's linking of Orientalism and (anti) Semitism will be highlighted to understand the links between Arabs and Jews in European post-Enlightenment thought. The question of race and religion will be posed as a central question to attempts to sidestep Semitism (as race/culture/language) in favor of a unifying discourse on monotheisms termed "The Abrahamic," especially in the work of Jacques Derrida. The paper will conclude by discussing the stakes in positing the Abrahamic as a ruse to forget Semitism in the interest of a liberal parity among monotheisms.
Location:
Aula B, Institute of Social Studies
The Hague
Dr. Joseph Massad is an Associate Professor, Columbia University , New York , USA.
See: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/mealac/faculty/massad/
More info? www.iss.nl/DRS
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