TALK: Jackals and Arabs (Once More: The German-Jewish Dialogue)

The lecture takes its point of departure in Maurice Blanchot’s claim that Kafka initiates a new form of dialogue. By reinserting Kafka in the debates (or dialogues) on the German-Jewish dialogue and the way in which that dialogue was always already framing, rehearsing and announcing the Arab-Jewish dialogue, Anidjar argues for the significance of form — and what it entails — in and toward the Arab-Jewish dialogue.

Gil Anidjar teaches in the departments of Religion and of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies at Columbia University. He is the author, among other books, ofThe Jew, the Arab: A History of the Enemy (2003), Blood: A Critique of Christianity (2014), and most recently, Qu’appelle-t-on destruction? Heidegger, Derrida (2017).

We gratefully acknowledge co-sponsorship by the Comparative Literature Program, the Departments of History and Religious Studies, the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center, Jewish Studies and the Center for Middle East Studies.