Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are three of the world’s major religions. What is unique to each, defining its individuality and differentiating it from the others? And, in today’s world, is it more relevant and useful to ask what among them is similar? Over three sessions we’ll examine histories, beliefs, religious texts and practices, looking for the different and the similar. Have similarities increased over time due to advances in communication, visibility, education and mutual influencing? Do the answers each religion offers to lofty (and mundane) questions still satisfy? Or do they contribute to tensions among the three, shaping the contours of today’s world? Comparisons aren’t always odious; sometimes they’re positively illuminating.
Ayelet Brinn is Assistant Professor of Judaic Studies and History at the University of Hartford, where she holds the Philip D. Feltman Professorship in Modern Jewish History. Her first book, A Revolution in Type: Gender and the Making of the American Yiddish Press, was published by New York University Press in 2023. She recently received a National Endowment for the Humanities stipend to conduct research for her forthcoming book on censorship and American Jewish culture.
Tuesdays, Nov. 19, Dec. 3, Dec. 10 | 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. | Greenberg Center/Harry Jack Gray Center | $60 | Register Here
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Faculty and staff are eligible to take one Presidents' College lecture for free every semester, or to receive a one-session discount ($20) for a longer course. Contact Laurie Fasciano at fasciano@hartford.edu or 860.768.4495.