You are cordially invited…
Friday, December 3
Seminar on Russian and East European Jewish Studies
Co-sponsored by Jews in Modern Europe Study Group, Center for European Studies
"From Soviet to German: How ‘Russian’ Jews are Changing the German-Jewish Relationship"
Sergey Lagodinsky, World Fellow, Yale University (fall 2010); Fellow, Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi), Berlin
1737 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor, Room K354 (Please note, this will be in KNAFEL, CGIS NORTH, not in our regular seminar room, S354)
12:15-2:00 p.m.
A light lunch will be served. For planning purposes, please RSVP by November 29 to Mihaly Kalman, mkalman@fas.harvard.edu.
The immigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union during the past 20 years has radically changed the fabric of the Jewish communities in Germany. The transition of the German Jewry deeply impacts its self-understanding, as well as its political and economic power. This transition coincides with important changes in the identity of the Germans in general. Both of these trends greatly affect the German-Jewish dialogue. In his talk, Sergey Lagodinsky will address the dissonance between the celebratory tone of German politicians and the every-day challenges Jews and their communities face. He will also explore the positive effects of the post-Soviet-Jewish immigration to Germany and whether these effects can be leveraged for the future of the German-Jewish relations.
Sergey Lagodinsky is a lawyer and author based in Berlin, spending the fall semester of 2010 at Yale University as a World Fellow. He is an expert on German foreign policy, transatlantic relations, the politics of integration and immigration, and constitutional and international law, with an emphasis on issues of freedom of speech and commemoration. He has appeared on the BBC World Service, DeutschlandRadio, Deutschlandfunk, Radio Liberty and other radio stations; his commentaries have been published by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Financial Times Deutschland, WELT, Tagesspiegel, among others.
From 2003 to 2006, Lagodinsky was program director at the Berlin office of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and continued to act as special advisor for the AJC until December 2008. He founded the first Jewish working group within a German political party, the Social Democrats, and is vice-speaker of the parliament of the Berlin Jewish Community.
Lagodinsky received his Ph.D. in law from Berlin's Humboldt University for his research on freedom of speech and protection against anti-semitism. He holds a law degree from the University of Göttingen and a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University
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Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Harvard University
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617.495.4037
F 617.495.8319
http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu