Term 1
The Quest for Meaning
Presented by Dr Yoram Bilu
Why does religion remain such a potent part of people’s lives? There are many questions about the role religion plays for individuals and societies around the world and why it remains such a potent force. While religion was seriously questioned in the early 20th Century due to notions of progress and secular enlightenment, it is seeing a resurgence in the 21st Century with a reawakening of religious sensibilities and the quest for spirituality.
Against this resurgence, we will explore various psychological theories that seek to understand religion and explain its popularity. We will also examine the interface between religion and psychology by looking at the significance of various religious rituals performed in ultra-Orthodox communities. How does ritual help people in the religious world understand child development and gender identity? And how do they understand inexplicable suffering?
Dates: Mon 1st, Tues 9th, Mon 15th, Mon 22nd March 
Holocaust Meaning & Memory Through Film
Presented by Prof Yehuda Bauer, Avril Alba and Don Perlgut
The Holocaust continues to fascinate filmmakers and audiences alike, its popularity seemingly increasing as the actual events pass into ‘history’. Recent films such as Inglourious Basterds, The Reader and Defiance have been surrounded with controversy and raise many questions, such as: Are there ‘appropriate’ or ‘inappropriate’ responses to, and representations of the Holocaust, and how do we define these? Can films that are not strictly historically accurate add to our understanding of the historical period, and if so, how? We will explore these questions and more by examining a variety of recent and ‘classic’ Holocaust films and documentaries.
Dates: Mon 1st, Tues 9th, Mon 15th, Mon 22nd March
Muslim Worlds: From the Middle East to Our Doorstep
Presented by Dr Jean Gelman Taylor
Provides an introduction to Islamic societies, and explores relations between Islam and the West. Begins with the development of early Islam, its expansion beyond the Arabian peninsula, Islamic monarchies and empires, Islamic civilisation, Islamic societies under Christian colonial rule, and the search for forms of government suitable for modernising Muslim societies.
Dates: Mon 1st, Tues 9th, Mon 15th, Wed 24th March
MORNING COURSE / Academy BJE, Bondi
Judaism at the Extremes: Saints, Cults and Messiahs
Presented by Dr. Yoram Bilu
While Judaism has always revered the Tzaddik (righteous person), it discourages the worship of such people and the emergence of cults around them. Similarly, Judaism embraces messianism but is wary of those who claim to be the Messiah.
Despite this, saint worship has actually been quite widespread in Jewish communities around the world, and messianic fervour has shaken the Jewish world in different historical periods. After examining the Jewish saints and messiahs through history, we will explore two dramatic contemporary manifestations of these phenomena: the cult of saints among a Jewish community in North Africa, and the messianic surge in Chabad (Lubavitch) Chasidic movement. We will examine the preconditions and circumstances that precipitated and shaped these phenomena and the ramifications on Judaism in the 21st Century.
Dates: Tues 2nd, Tues 9th, Tues 16th, Tues 23rd March
Click here for North Shore public lecture
Stay tuned over the coming weeks for more information on these exciting courses and presenters.
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