RENOWNED JUDAIC SCHOLAR JACOB NEUSNER WILL SPEAK AT BARD COLLEGE

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—Jacob Neusner, renowned scholar of Judaism and Theology who has recently been appointed Research Professor of Religion and Theology at Bard College, will speak at Bard on Monday, September 11. This lecture, which inaugurates Neusner's full-time appointment, is presented by the Institute of Advanced Theology and the Religion program at Bard College and will be held at 6:00 p.m., in Room 102 of the F. W. Olin Humanities Building. Neusner will speak on the topic of "Theology Comes Home: The Role of Theology in the Academic Study of Religion and the Role of Theology of Judaism in the Academic Study of Judaism;" this will be published by the Institute on the occasion of its presentation. Neusner is also a Senior Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College.

Commenting on the separation of religion and theology in Western academic study, Neusner says, "We at Bard, with our free-standing Institute of Advanced Theology as well as our Department of Religion, innovate by giving theology what is at present a unique venue: equal but separate. The study of theology is correlated with the study of religion. That is a position which, in our view, if done right, theology claims for itself."

Jacob Neusner received his Ph.D. in religion from Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary and his rabbinical degree at the Jewish Theological Seminary. In addition, he holds seven honorary doctorates and numerous academic medals and honors. He has published more than 800 books and countless articles. Neusner has taught at Bard College since 1994 prior to accepting this full-time appointment. In addition he has also taught at Dartmouth College, Brown University, and the University of South Florida, among others. He is a member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, and life member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University, in England. Neusner was president of the American Academy of Religion, a member of the founding committee of the Association for Jewish Studies, and founded the European Association of Jewish Studies. He served as a member of the National Council on the Humanities under President Carter and a member of the National Council on the Arts under President Reagan. The position Neusner holds as Research Professor of Religion and Theology at Bard College is supported, in part, by a grant from the Tisch Family Foundation of New York City.

The Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College was established to foster critical understanding based on scholarship that will make true religious pluralism possible. Since its inception in 1996, the Institute's work has focused on how religions influence history, society, one another, and are in turn influenced by them. The Institute gratefully acknowledges support provided by the Crohn Family Trust, the Tisch Family Foundation, and grants from The Jerome Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the American Council of Learned Societies, and Bard College.

For further information about the lecture by Jacob Neusner or the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College, call 845-758-7279.

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(8.16.00)

This event was last updated on 03-02-2001

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