Today, more than ever, visual language defines not only the way we think and feel about experiences, belonging and traditions but also about our visions of the future. While this may seem a very recent development, the use of visual language has a long history. The Leo Baeck Institute London is excited to present and endorse innovative research engaging with German-Jewish history and culture through the lens of Jewish Visual History..
From fine art objects, architecture, theatre and fashion to film, photography, social media and computer games, images express how we perceive, record and understand our world. Visual language also provides a means to negotiate political ideas, political systems and social order and to convey moral values. Our research in German-Jewish history and culture through the lens of Jewish Visual History aims to explore trends and patterns in this field, but also to gain a deeper understanding of relationships between images and power, between cultural constructs and personal experiences.
Here is a selection of the Leo Baeck Institute London's activities in the field of Jewish Visual History:
Leo Baeck Institute London Lecture Series
The Leo Baeck Institute London Lecture Series frequently examines topics related to the field of Jewish Visual History. Topics range from different 'Conceptions of Heimat in Jewish Visual History and Culture' to 'Acting Jewish: Between Identity and Attire' in movies, TV-series, the fashion industry, literature, art etc.
To see our upcoming lectures dealing with Jewish Visual History, please click here.
Snapshots of German-Jewish History and Culture.
The Snapshots of German-Jewish History and Culture, posted on our website and social media, give an insight into our London institute’s collection of rare books and historical pamphlets. Different items like the edition of Moritz D. Oppenheim's famous cycle "Scenes from Traditional Jewish Family Life" (shown here) illustrate many facets of the history and culture of Europe’s German speaking Jewry.
To see our latest Snapshots dealing with Jewish Visual History, please click here.
Conferences
The Leo Baeck Institute London organizes international conferences exploring the field of Jewish Visual History from different angles. The conference "Jews and Jewish Religion in Western Postwar Fiction Film", for instance, examined the presence of Judaism in Post-war fiction films in Europe, the USA and Israel.
To see our recent conferences dealing with Jewish Visual History, please click here.
Publications
To see examples of our recent publications dealing with Jewish Visual History, please click the links below
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