Workshop: Entangled Otherings 2024

There is nothing new, in essence, about social tensions concerning monitoring, speech and silence surrounding Islamophobia and antisemitism in Germany, much of the Western world, and elsewhere; indeed, it has been clear to various observers since the early 2000s. The October 7 Hamas massacre in the southwest of Israel, and Israel’s reactions to it, intensified these tensions. 

However, some commentators believe that the aftermath of October 7 has brought to light new constellations of conditioned possibilities for speech and action pertaining to the position of minorities. Others see the silence about rising Islamophobia as a continuation of old trends.

For those who stress the novelty of public discourse since October 7, the dynamics of the moment are different in kind, and not just degree or inflection, from before. But are they correct?

In this workshop, we are interested to examine more closely this question about continuity and novelty of discourses about Islamophobia, antisemitism and philosemitism through changes in the political climate. We aim to ask:

• What new dynamics between majority-minority as well as minority-minority relations can we see today in Germany and elsewhere?
• How, if at all, has the tension between responding to antisemitism and the rejection of the presence of Islamophobia changed in recent months?

We invite scholars to reflect on:

• changes in the discourse on the protection of Jews in Germany and elsewhere;
• monitoring antisemitism;
• the relations between migration status, antisemitism, and citizenship;
• shrinking of the democratic public sphere; and
• new alliances that are forming.
• We also invite reflections on the possibilities for new solidarities among Jews and Palestinians and other groups affected by the violence. 

About Entangled Otherings

This 3-year project explores the complicated relationships between antisemitism, islamophobia, and other kinds of racism and discrimination. It is a collaboration between the Cambridge Interfaith Programme, the Centre for Research on Antisemitism at the Technical University in Berlin, Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism (London), and the Department of German Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington. Read more about this work.

Workshop participation

This is a by-invitation workshop, sponsored by the Cambridge–DAAD Hub.

If you are interested in attending, please contact the convenors: 

Esra Özyürek (ego24 @ cam.ac.uk) AND Irit Dekel (idekel @ iu.edu).