British and Irish Association of Jewish Studies Annual Conference 2026: Space and Place in Jewish Studies
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Finishes:
Venue:
Birkbeck Main Building, Malet Street
Space and Place in Jewish Studies
British and Irish Association of Jewish Studies Annual Conference 2026
Birkbeck, University of London | July 2026
"there is no thing that has not its place.” -- Pirkei Avot 4:3
For 2026, the theme of the BIAJS annual conference is space and place. Since ancient times, these concepts have been central to Jewish life and thought. Spaces and places can be real or imaginary, micro or macro, shared or separated, boundaried or porous, safe or hostile: the ark, the sukkah, the mikveh, the genizah, the kibbutz, the eruv, the Temple, the concentration camp, the Uganda plan, Babylonian exile, the occupied territories, Eretz Yisrael, di goldene medine, Sepharad, Yiddishland, the heavens and the underworld… From biblical narratives rooted in specific geographies, to sacred architecture and urban neighbourhoods, to diasporic movements and reimagined homelands, Jews have continually negotiated their relationship to space – physical, textual, social, political, and symbolic. Spaces and places are not neutral containers for Jewish life; they shape, reshape and are shaped by Jewish life and practices. How can attention to place and the spatial animate Jewish studies?
All of the conference catering will be strictly vegetarian. Please contact events@bbk.ac.uk if you instead require a certified strictly kosher lunch on the days for which you are registered.
How to become a member of BIAJS
Contact name: Ben Gidley
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