Maimonides and his Milieu: A Conference at Vanderbilt
November 14-15, Vanderbilt University Department of Philosophy and Jewish Studies Program host an international conference, Maimonides and his Milieu, marking the 800th anniversary of the death of Moses ben Maimon (1138-1204), the great Jewish philosopher, physician, and jurist. Born in Cordova, Maimonides spent his mature years in Cairo. He was the author of ten medical works, three major works of jurisprudence, including the still authoritative Code of Jewish Law (Mishneh Torah), and the celebrated Guide to the Perplexed. Written in Arabic and translated into Hebrew and Latin in the Middle Ages, and into many other languages since, the Guide is a brilliant and widely influential exploration of the problems of religious thought and language. It brings together in critical dialogue the philosophical ideas of the ancient Greeks and Maimonides' Jewish and Muslim predecessors and contemporaries. Its broad scope and profound commitment to critical understanding make it a classic whose influence endures to the present day.The conference opens 9 a.m. Sunday morning, November 14, 2004, in Alumni Hall at Vanderbilt. Speakers include Arthur Hyman of Yeshiva and Columbia Universities, Menachem Kellner of Haifa University, Moshe Sokol, of Lander College, Alfred Ivry of New York University, Gideon Freudenthal of Tel Aviv University, and Paul Mendes-Flohr of the University of Chicago and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, as well as Vanderbilt Professors Lenn Goodman and Idit Dobbs-Weinstein, the conference organizers, and Richard McGregor, David Wasserstein, and Martina Urban.
The topics addressed range from Maimonides' environs in Spain and North Africa to the abiding impact his philosophy. Papers will consider Maimonides' thoughts about medicine, law and scripture, psychology, joy and love. David Novak of the University of Toronto will deliver the keynote - Can we be Maimonideans Today? - on Sunday night November 14th at 5:15, at Vanderbilt Law School in the Alumni Room. The public is invited to a reception there at 4 p.m. prior to the keynote. All of the conference presentations are free and open to the public.
Maimonides and his Milieu is generously supported by grants from the Matchette Foundation, the Vanderbilt University Research Scholars Program, the Center for the Study of Religion and Culture, the Divinity School, the Law School, the Medical School, the Jewish Studies Program, and the Department of Philosophy Berry Fund and McVean Fund.
Phone Jewish Studies at (615) 322-5029 for more information.
To prepare for the conference, you might wish to read up on Maimonides or download the 5-lecture mini-course, from the MP3 files at Professor Lenn Goodman's webpage, click here.
