Thinking in the Salons of Berlin -Rahel Varnhagen Reading Circle
Thinking in the Salons of Berlin is a two-part public reading circle inspired by the work of Hannah Arendt and Rahel Varnhagen, marking the 50th anniversary of Arendt’s death. The series offers a space for close reading, critical discussion, and collective reflection, drawing on the tradition of the Berlin salons as sites of intellectual exchange.
The program unfolds across two encounters :
Sunday, February 15, 4:30 PM
Learning Activism from Hannah Arendt - Conversation with Prof. Natan Sznaider and guided discussion based on selected readings.
Sunday, April 26, 4:30 PM
Rahel Varnhagen as an Activist
Talk by Dr. Hannah Lotte Lund, followed by a guided walking tour with Dorothee Nolte, visiting relevant sites in Berlin. Participation is limited and prior online registration is required. Interested participants may attend one or both sessions.
Registration:
Organized by JASS – Jewish Activism Summer School (University of Potsdam), with the support of Paideia Mifgash, in cooperation with the Mendelssohn-Gesellschaft.
Hannah Arendt: Facing Tyranny-Screening and Conversation
Rahel Varnhagen Reading Circle – JASS | Jewish Activism Summer School
As part of the Rahel Varnhagen Reading Circle, JASS – Jewish Activism Summer School invites you to a special screening and conversation marking 50 years since the death of Hannah Arendt.
The event features the screening of Hannah Arendt: Facing Tyranny, a documentary released this year that explores Arendt’s life, work, and enduring relevance — from her escape from Nazi Germany to her reflections on totalitarianism, responsibility, and the human condition.
The screening will be followed by a conversation with Jeff Bieber, director of the film, offering insights into the creative process and the contemporary significance of Arendt’s thought.
January 13, 2026
Free tickets – prior registration required
The Rights of Rivers and the Rites of Trees- MA lecture Blokseminar, University of Potsdam. Group trip to Ecuador
MA lecture Blokseminar, University of Potsdam. with Prof. Dr. Jonathan Schorsch and Dr. Lisa Maria Madera
Meet 6 Thursdays, 90 min.
12:00 UTC-5 (- 19.00 CET)
Oct 23 2025 to Jan 15 2026
We live in a world of relations. In times of complex and radical change, how do we forge life-giving relationships to Nature and to the living world?
In this course, we will think through these questions by delving into the legal rights and ceremonial rites of rivers and trees and will include an exploration of how to work collectively to defend a river or bless a tree.
This course will meet online over the course of the winter semester and will culminate in a group trip to Ecuador 23 January - 4 February, 2026. Costs for travel to and within Ecuador must be paid by each participant.
For the syllabus see the following link . This course is open to the general public with registration as an auditor or visiting student open until 30 October.
For the full description of the excursion see Invitation to a Listening Tour of Ecuador
REGISTER HERE for the excursion.
Visit to the Staatsbibliothek (Stabi) Judaica Collection
Friday, 16.1.26, 13:00
We will be given an introduction to the Judaica collection of the Staatsbibliothek by Petra Figeac, the librarian who specializes in Jewish and Middle Eastern subjects. The collection includes numerous Hebrew, Yiddish, and other Jewish materials. We will get a general introduction to the library and the Oriental Reading Room, as well as have a chance to look at a halakhic manuscript and some other rare and interesting items.
Location: Potsdamer Str. 33, 10785 Berlin
For questions jschorsch@uni-potsdam.de
Film and Discussion: Synagogue of Ancestral Commitments (2025, 100 min, USA, Brazil, Portugal. Dir. Alex Minkin)
MON 16. JUNE, 18:00
is a poetic documentary about Brazilian Jews who explore their spiritualities through Afro-Brazilian ancestral rituals. Brazilian artist Andre Feitosa discovered that his family comes from the Indigenous, enslaved Africans and Jews, forcibly converted by the Inquisition. Some of his ancestors were tortured by their slave owners, yet others burned alive for their Jewish faith, others expelled from Europe, then wandered around Brazil, changing their names, and hiding their past. Andre creates a community called "Synagogue of ancestral commitments” as a form of sacred healing art that combines Judaism and Afro-Brazilian religions.
Please Join us on the 16th of June for a screening of the film and a discussion with the director, Alex Minkin, Dr. André Feitosa, and Professor Andrea Kogan, moderated by our own Professor Jonathan Schorsch.
Saravá Shalom | Trailer (youtube)
Stellungnahme zu Vorwürfen sexualisierter Belästigung am Abraham Geiger Kolleg
Die School of Jewish Theology ist entsetzt über die vom Abraham Geiger Kolleg bestätigten Vorwürfe sexualisierter Belästigung durch einen Mitarbeitenden, der als Lehrbeauftragter auch im Rahmen unseres Studienprogramms tätig war. Das Abraham Geiger Kolleg hat mindestens zwei solcher Fälle eingeräumt und den betreffenden Mitarbeiter entlassen. Wir bedauern zutiefst, dass Studierende innerhalb unseres erweiterten Lernumfeldes derart verletzende Erfahrungen haben machen müssen und davor nicht ausreichend geschützt waren.
Seit 2020 existiert an der School of Jewish Theology eine Richtlinie zu respektvollem Umgang und Schutz vor Diskriminierung, zu deren Anspruch eines sicheren und fairen Arbeits- und Studienortes wir vollumfänglich stehen. Die bekannt gewordenen Fälle sowie die dazu veröffentlichten Vorwürfe des Machtmissbrauchs zeigen, dass institutionelle Prinzipien jedoch nur einen Rahmen bilden können, innerhalb dessen wir uns weiterhin aktiv um einen respektvollen Umgang und eine transparente Kommunikation bemühen müssen. Belästigung, Gewalt und Diskriminierung jedweder Art sowie der Missbrauch von Macht gehören nicht an die School of Jewish Theology.
Wir erwarten vom Abraham Geiger Kolleg sowie von der Leitung der Universität Potsdam eine unabhängige, lückenlose und transparente Aufklärung sämtlicher Vorwürfe und Verdachtsfälle und werden unser Möglichstes tun, zu einem solchen Prozess beizutragen. Allen unseren Studierenden möchten wir unsere volle Unterstützung anbieten. Bitte wenden Sie sich an die Fachschaft, Mitarbeitende, denen Sie vertrauen, oder an die Gleichstellungsbeauftragte der Philosophischen Fakultät, wenn Sie zur Aufklärung der aktuellen Vorwürfe beitragen oder darüber sprechen möchten.
Die Mitglieder der School of Jewish Theology