Judaeo-Arabic Studies

International conference
1-4 July 2019

University of Antwerp - City campus
Building C - Room C.103
Prinsstraat 13 - 2000 Antwerp

Free entrance to the lectures. Meals and guided tour only for the registered speakers.

Registration: click here.

The Institute of Jewish Studies organizes, in cooperation with the Society for Judaeo-Arabic Studies (SJAS), the 19th international conference of the SJAS at the University of Antwerp from 1 until 4 July 2019.

The SJAS is an international learned society that promotes the study and preservation of medieval Judeo Arabic history, literature, philosophy, and culture.

Judeo Arabic is a language spoken and written by Jews throughout Arabic-speaking lands. It developed with the rise of Islam and remains in use today. In the medieval period, many Jewish literary, philosophical, and even legal works were produced which gave shape to the Jewish literary canon in continuous dialogue with neighboring Muslim and Christian cultures.

The Society for Judeo Arabic Studies holds a biannual international conference, hosted by a university, held alternately within and then outside Israel.

The 19th SJAS conference will feature world-renowned scholars presenting on a wide range of issues relating to Judeo-Arabic language, law, literature, philosophy, society, and culture. The bi-annual conference promotes scholarship in the mentioned fields exploring both internal developments and inter-religious influences—Christian, Muslim, and Jewish alike. This year, the conference will celebrate notable birthdays of two of the founders and leading lights of the field of Judeo Arabic studies: Prof. Yehoshua Blau and Prof. Haggai Ben-Shammai, both of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Keynote speakers are Prof. Menachem Ben-Sasson (Chancellor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Prof. Sarah Stroumsa (former rector of the Hebrew University).