CfP Conference Jewish Languages and Politics. Ideological Choices of Jews in the Modern Era at the POLIN Museum

Aleksandra Jakubczak

Poland

International Conference: Jewish Languages and Politics. Ideological Choices of Jews in the Modern Era

1-3 June 2026 Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews (Warsaw, Poland)

In the modern period, political, social, and religious tensions arose in Jewish communities, for example, between different religious currents and between Zionists and proponents of Jewish life in the Diaspora. At the heart of these different attitudes and identity decisions among Jews have always been languages. Linguistic choices influenced how traditions were preserved or developed, how liberal and conservative currents of Judaism emerged, as well as how the Jewish state took its form. Finally, language ideologies played an important role in Jewish self-expression and self-understanding. 

The question of language – its significance, influence across various spheres of Jewish life – is crucial for understanding modern Jewish history, particularly with regard to socio-political processes in the diaspora. The conference aims to showcase and interrogate the latest research findings and promote a broader, international discussion on Jewish languages and languages used by Jews globally from the 18th to the end of the 20th century, especially in the context of:

• Language and the formation of Jewish identity.
• The language of politics, especially in the context of the formation of new Jewish political and ideological movements.
• The importance of the Hebrew language for the development of Zionist thought.
• The place of Yiddish in diasporic life and in the development of Zionist ideology.
• Esperanto as a product of Jewish linguistic polyphony.
• The mutual influence between Jewish languages and the non-Jewish environment.
• Jewish linguistic ideologies and the Jewish-language press as a medium of communication.
• The interrelation between Jewish religious history and the shifting role of Hebrew as a sacred language.
• The rise and decline of traditional Jewish languages, such as Ladino, Judeo-Italian, Jewish Malayalam, and Judeo-Arabic.
• The emergence of new Jewish sociolects, for example, Jewish English and Jewish Swedish.

We invite submissions for this conference from researchers in the field of Jewish studies, working across diverse disciplines including history, sociology, anthropology, literature, linguistics, and related fields, ranging from PhD students to advanced scholars.

More details and the application form can be found here: International conference "Jewish Languages and Politics. Ideological Choices of Jews in the Modern Era" | Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN w Warszawie

The conference accompanies POLIN Museum's temporary exhibition: "The Power of Words. On Jewish Languages."

The organizers will provide meals and accommodation during the conference. Speakers may apply for partial reimbursement of travel expenses if no other funding is available. Preference for funding will be given to early-career and independent researchers. The organizers reserve the right to record and publish conference proceedings.

Contact Email

geopconference@polin.pl

URL

https://polin.pl/en/event/international-conference-jewish-languages-and-politic…