CFA Extended to March 1, 2017: Faculty seminar on "Martin Luther's Theology and the Jews," US Holocaust Memorial Museum, 19-23 June 2017

Madison Howard Discussion

The Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum announces a faculty seminar on "Martin Luther and the Jews", which will be held at the Museum from June 19-23. Faculty from all disciplines are welcome to apply. For information about the application process, please see: https://www.ushmm.org/research/competitive-academic-programs/faculty-seminars/seminar-for-seminary-and-religious-studies-faculty/annual-seminar-for-seminary-and-religious-studies-faculty.

The topic of “Luther and the Jews” became one of the most researched themes in the field of Luther studies after the Holocaust. On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation in 2017, the legacy of one of the most influential Christian teachers is being reassessed. This seminar will orient participants to the breadth of Luther’s writings on and comments about the Jews, highlight continuities and discontinuities in his thought, probe the foundations of Luther’s – and his contemporaries’ – antagonism toward the Jews, and provide select examinations of subsequent appropriations of Luther’s anti-Jewish writings (particularly On the Jews and Their Lies) in the early twentieth-century. The course will facilitate critical analysis of early modern history, engagement with and adjustment of central prevalent Christian teachings, and the development of pedagogical approaches to confronting this issue.

The seminar will be co-led by Kirsi Stjerna and Brooks Schramm.  Kirsi Stjerna is First Lutheran, Los Angeles/Southwest California Synod Professor of Lutheran History and Theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California, and Docent at the University of Helsinki. She is a general editor and a volume editor of the 6-volume work, The Annotated Luther (Fortress Press, 2015-). As a contributor to the same project, she introduced, annotated, and provided a revised translation of Luther’s 1523 treatise, That Jesus Christ was born a Jew.  Brooks Schramm is Kraft Professor of Biblical Studies at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, PA.  Among his several contributions to The Annotated Luther is his introduction to, translation of, and annotations to Luther’s 1543 anti-Jewish treatise, On the Ineffable Name and on the Lineage of Christ.  Brooks Schramm and Kirsi Stjerna are also co-editors of Martin Luther, the Bible, and the Jewish People: A Reader (Fortress Press, 2012).

Participants will also have the opportunity to learn more about Museum resources for their teaching and to consult and interact with Museum staff and visiting scholars. More information about the Museum’s programs on the historical role of religion during the Holocaust and the ways in which religious institutions, leaders, and theologians have addressed this history and its legacy since 1945 can be found at Programs on Ethics, Religion, and the Holocaust.

Candidates must be faculty members at accredited, degree-awarding institutions in North America.  Applications must include: (1) a curriculum vitae; (2) a statement of the candidate’s specific interest and purpose for attending the seminar; and (3) a supporting letter from a departmental chair or dean addressing the candidate’s qualifications and the institution’s potential interest in having Holocaust-related courses taught. 

Admission will be decided without regard to age, gender, race, creed, or national origin. For non-local participants, the Center will (1) reimburse the cost of direct travel to and from the participant’s home institution and Washington, DC, up to but not exceeding the amount of $600; and (2) cover the cost of lodging for the duration of the course.  Incidental, meal, and book expenses must be covered by the candidates or their respective institutions. All participants must attend the entire seminar.

Applications must be submitted per email no later than February 15, 2017, to university_programs@ushmm.org; please put “PERH Seminar” in the subject line.  For questions, please contact Victoria Barnett at 202-488-0469 or vbarnett@ushmm.org.  All applicants will be notified of the results of the selection process by Friday, March 17, 2017.

This seminar is made possible by the Hoffberger Family Fund and by Joseph A. and Janeal Cannon and Family.