The Ancient Past and the Future of the Humanities

Philip and Muriel Berman Center for Jewish Studies and the Humanities Center at Lehigh University

 

The Ancient Past and the Future of the Humanities 

 

The philosopher of history George Santayana famously said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” In the 21st-century university, the humanities, especially the study of the ancient past, increasingly have to argue for their educational relevance. What can we remember of the past and why should we remember? What does the study of antiquity contribute to the humanities and their relevance for a 21st-century education?

 

Join us for a conversation with Dr. Michal Bar-Asher Siegal, scholar of rabbinic literature and Associate Professor at Ben Gurion University (currently visiting at Yale), and Dr. Benjamin Wright, scholar of early Jewish and Christian texts and University Distinguished Professor at Lehigh University, as they discuss these timely questions.