3/30/12
Jewish-Muslim Dialogue Is Topic For Siegel Lecture At St. Lawrence
CANTON - The 2012 Rabbi Seymour Siegel Memorial Lecture at St. Lawrence University will be delivered by Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky, Appleman Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies at The Jewish Theological Seminary, on Thursday, April 19, at 7 p.m. in Herring-Cole Hall. The title of the lecture is "From Cairo to Qatar: Recent Developments in Jewish-Muslim Dialogue." It is open to the public, free of charge.
A leader in international interfaith relations, Visotzky was recently named a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent, nonpartisan organization. He was also recently awarded the 2012 Goldziher Prize, given by the Center for the Study of Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations at Merrimack College "to a scholar and/or activist for significant work in promoting Jewish-Muslim interfaith dialogue, mutual understanding, and deep respect."
Visotzky teaches courses in rabbinic interpretation of scripture and rabbinic narrative, as well as Talmud. With Bill Moyers, Visotzky developed the 10-hour 1996 PBS series "Genesis: A Living Conversation." He was also a consultant to DreamWorks SKG for the 1998 film Prince of Egypt.
Author of 10 books and more than 100 articles and reviews published in the U.S., Europe and Israel, Visotzky will travel in May to Muscat, Oman, as part of the U.S.-Pakistan Interreligious Consortium, organized by Intersections International in partnership with the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy. The event is designed to bring together Pakistani and American religious leaders who lead interfaith organizations or initiatives in order to facilitate mutual capacity-building and cross-cultural cooperation in addressing issues of mutual concern, especially as they affect U.S.-Pakistani relations.
Visotzky is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. He holds a master's degree in education from Harvard University and a master's degree and Ph.D. from The Jewish Theological Seminary.
Siegel was a noted Conservative Jewish author and scholar. His family donated his papers to St. Lawrence University's Owen D. Young Library and created an endowment for an annual lecture on campus in his memory.
