The early modern period—spanning roughly from the late fifteenth through the late eighteenth centuries—is distinguished by several remarkable developments that are often associated with the modern world: it was an age of scientific discoveries, of the unprecedented dissemination of ideas through the newly-invented printing press, of the emergence of new national political structures, and of the breakdown of traditional sources of authority. Jews and Christians alike were transformed by these dramatic changes. Jews traveled and migrated more frequently and farther than ever before; boldly challenged the authority of their rabbis; used the press to spread Hebrew books, new and old, to ever wider-audiences; and mingled with Christians and others in unforeseen ways. In the 2014 Penn Lectures in Judaic Studies, Moving into Modernity: The Shaping of Jewish Culture in Early Modern Europe, Katz Center fellows will explore many different aspects of this fascinating period.
What Is the Early Modern Period and Why Should We Care?
David B. Ruderman (University of Pennsylvania)
In this opening lecture, David Ruderman a master historian of this period and dynamic lecturer, will survey the exciting history of the early modern Jewish world and make its significance clear. He will set the stage for the rich program to come over the course of the spring. Light reception including book sale and signing of Ruderman’s Early Modern Jewry: A New Cultural History at 6:00 pm. Please note that books will only be sold and signed before the lecture.