Reading Group
Hello,
To help bring community attention to issues of current debate in Jewish life, culture, and experience, UMaine Judaic Studies invites you to join a special reading group starting in October. We will study and discuss Dara Horn’s
People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present (W W Norton, 2021).
This bestselling and critically acclaimed book explores the startling and controversial thesis that Jewish history is exploited to comfort the living. Echoing Chomanada Ngozi Adichie’s “The Danger of a Single Story,” Horn’s book raises important questions about how the narrative is framed and how we might move beyond the Holocaust as the “single story” of modern Jewish life.
With the generous support of the JCEA and the McGillicuddy Humanities Center, we can provide complimentary copies of Horn’s book to those who are willing to commit to reading and discussing it together. To register, fill out the form here: https://forms.gle/me9znwypeigE4Uix8.
When we receive copies of the book, you will receive an email letting you know it’s time to pick up your copy. Included in that email will be a full schedule of our discussion meetings, which will be in The Maples building on campus at UMaine and via ZOOM. See the registration form for a tentative schedule. When registering, please select a meeting day/time preference so we can coordinate the best options for the group. There’s no need to commit to attending every meeting, but we’re not just giving away books here, either!
Priority will be given to UMaine students and members of the local Jewish community. Still, registration will be open to all who agree to read and discuss the book diligently and respectfully.
Again, to register, fill out the form here: https://forms.gle/me9znwypeigE4Uix8.
Best wishes, Derek A. Michaud