Ticket Thinking

Socio-critical perspectives on antisemitism & education

Conference on 8th & 9th April 2024 at Justus-Liebig-University Gießen

The International Network of Young Academics Against Antisemitism (NY3A), founded in 2022, in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Stefan Müller (Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences / Justus Liebig University Giessen), is organizing an interdisciplinary and international conference on the topic of antisemitism and education, which aims to bring together academic and civil society perspectives. The conference is intended to bring together scholars from different research disciplines and actors in civic education and to explore the complex of topics using different approaches. In particular, we would like to encourage scholars in qualification phases (bachelor studies to post-doc), political educators as well as women* and Jews to submit papers.

The main goal of the conference is to reflect on the current state of research on antisemitism and education. Four panels will focus on theory and empiricism, didactics and practice.

Conference languages are English and German.

The program will be announced in September 2023.

1. Claim of the conference

Antisemitism has been on the rise for years, both in Germany and worldwide. Studies and crime statistics provide information about this, as do those affected themselves. Its systematic trivialization, as for example in the context of documenta15, allows the real threat to Jews to continue to grow.

The virulence of antisemitism has been the subject of research in German education for several years. For example, the Joint Recommendation on Dealing with Antisemitism in Schools published in June 2021 by the German Ministers of Education and the Central Council of Jews in Germany develops a catalog of measures based on recent research findings to effectively combat hatred of Jews. However, there has been no binding implementation in teacher training, nor has there been any continuation of state support for extracurricular educational work against antisemitism.

At the latest since Adorno and Horkheimer located the "limits of enlightenment" in antisemitism, the relevance of social and educational theoretical perspectives has become clear. The antisemitic ticket fundamentally obstructs a mature relationship to the self and the world. Basic research, however, too often remains marginal. Instead, the predominant focus - in research as well as in educational practice - is on 'incidents' and their prevention. There is already disagreement about treating antisemitism as an ideology alone, and not as another form of discrimination among others. The extent to which ideological and socio-critical perspectives in educational work are a prerequisite for promoting a mature relationship to oneself and the world can be named as a further current challenge. In addition, there is a considerable need for research on the effects of critical education on antisemitism. Recently, there has been an increase in international educational policy initiatives - for example, in Great Britain and the USA - that seek to deal with contemporary forms of antisemitism in pedagogical terms.

The conference wants to address current needs and gaps and bundle contributions to enlightenment and education against antisemitism.

2. Possible questions

Contributions can be guided by the following questions:

To what extent does the inclusion of Jewish perspectives also lead to a reorientation ofcritical education on antisemitism? Which descriptions of antisemitism have so far led to (not) including different Jewish perspectives?
What conditions can be identified that have led to the largely missing consideration of socio-critical and educational-theoretical perspectives on antisemitism in the field of education?
What can ideology-critical approaches to antisemitism and education look like? What are their limits - theoretically and didactically? Can there be ideology-critical perspectives on prevention without substantially reducing the concept of education?
To what extent does the "rupture of civilization" (Diner) cast doubt on the subject's ability to make experiences and to be educated after Auschwitz? And what consequences would this have for political education, especially critical education on antisemitism?
What are the lines of development of critical education on antisemitism after Auschwitz that should (not) be further developed?
What contribution can historical-political education make to contemporary education critical of antisemitism?
Which assumptions do the reflection and the inclusion of emotions follow? Is there empirical evidence that the inclusion of emotions can contribute to the elucidation of antisemitism?
Antisemitism is both the particular violence against Jews and universalized counter-enlightenment, a "distortion of a social theory" (Rürup). What educational approaches exist besides a direct thematization of antisemitism and its consequences that aim to strengthen non-antisemitic perspectives and political discernment? How do they counteract antisemitism?
Which empirical and theoretical assumptions do civil society actors refer to in their work? How are they translated into didactics and pedagogical practice?
What are the quality criteria for educational work critical of antisemitism? How are educational programs evaluated?
How are teaching and learning materials didactically structured? To what extent do they enable or hinder the opportunity to make educational experiences?
Antisemitism is increasingly expressed and reproduced online: What consequences does this have for pedagogical practice? Are there best practice examples, also internationally, and to what extent can they be translated?
The scientific debate on antisemitism focuses primarily on schools, while a large part of the educational practice is carried out by non-school actors or takes place in cooperation with them. What are the perspectives, resources and problems for non-school educational work against antisemitism? When do cooperations with schools come about and what are the expectations in each case?

3. Concept of the conference

The framework of the conference should allow for an intensive discussion of the content of the contributions that have been formulated in advance and made accessible to the participants (see schedule). For this purpose, the conference will be divided into four different panels, each of which will be moderated by a leader. At the beginning of each panel, the authors of the selected papers will have the opportunity to briefly (max. 5 min.) outline the theses of their own contribution. The discussion will then be based on the paper. The aim is to have speakers from civil society initiatives on each panel.

After the conference, the papers will be revised in the light of the insights gained in the discussions and the controversies that still exist. The aim is to publish the contributions in an anthology.

4. Form of submissions & time schedule

Deadline for Abstracts: 15/09/2023
Max. Number of characters: 3.000
We request that a short bio be included with the abstracts.
Please send your documents as PDF to: ny3a@gmx.de
Evaluation of Abstracts: Feedback by the end of September 2023.
Submission of the final papers (max. 10 pages, German or English) by 31 January 2023.
Sending of the conference reader by mid-March 2024.
Conference: 08 & 09/04/2024

08/04/24: Arrival, keynotes & dinner

09/04/24: Conference until 5pm, departure

Revision of papers by summer 2024.
Planned publication in spring 2025.

5. Travel & accommodation

We will make every effort to provide a wheelchair accessible conference venue.

The conference will be held in cooperation with the Hessian State Center for Political Education and the Political Education Section of the Giessen Graduate Center for Social, Economic and Legal Sciences at Justus Liebig University Giessen.

We look forward to receiving numerous applications!

Prof. Dr. Stefan Müller (UAS Frankfurt & JLU Gießen)

Henning Gutfleisch (University of Mainz)

Alexander Hermert (RWTH Aachen University)

Elke Rajal (University of Passau)

Kai E. Schubert (Justus-Liebig-University Gießen)

Vanessa Walter (University of Bielefeld)