Karaite Studies:

 The State of the Field

RESEARCH WORKSHOP OF  THE ISRAEL SCIENCE FOUNDATION  AND  THE GOLDSTEIN-GOREN INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR JEWISH THOUGHT

In cooperation with:

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

The Ben-Zvi Institute, Jerusalem

Karaite studies have progressed greatly in recent years, in many different fields. New Karaite texts are being discovered and analyzed, and the opening up of the libraries of the Former Soviet Union has been particularly important in this regard. Breakthroughs have been made in the study of a number of fields of Karaite creativity, such as linguistics, philosophy, and exegesis, as well as new insights into the Karaite communities of Eastern Europe. An important new bibliography of Karaite studies appeared in 2011.

In light of all these developments, the workshop will try to answer some of the following questions: What has been achieved and what remains to be done? What are the major areas of scholarly disagreement about Karaism? Where is there consensus? What are the important projects which should be accomplished in the coming 10 or 20 years? Can we speak of Karaite studies as a distinct field or is it a combination of many different disciplines and objects of research? What resources are available for future research?

The participants in this workshop come from around the world and they cover the fields of exegesis, linguistics, history, thought, and Karaite languages and literature.

Organized by Daniel J. Lasker

4-7 Adar 5772

27.2.2012 – 1.3.2012

Rotem Conference Room

Zlotowski Student Administration Building

The Marcus family campus Beer-Sheva