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UID:4760@wjcouncil.org
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251104T201500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251104T211500
DTSTAMP:20251031T173710Z
URL:https://www.wjcouncil.org/events/yinr-womens-initiative-for-jewish-stu
 dies-to-bring-dr-flora-cassen-via-zoom/
SUMMARY:YINR - Women’s Initiative for Jewish Studies to Bring Dr. Flora
 Cassen via Zoom
DESCRIPTION:Women’s Initiative for Jewish Studies (WIJS) at Young Israel
 of New Rochelle is proud to present Dr. Flora Cassen on Tuesday\, November
 4\, 2025 @ 8:15 pm (ET) on Zoom.  Cassen will be the first speaker of the
 2025-2026 season in the monthly scholarly programming offered by WIJS at
 YINR.\n\nDr. Cassen’s lecture is entitled\, “When Myth Becomes History:
 The Brussels Host Desecration Accusation\, 1370–Today.”  The
 discussion will follow the remarkable afterlife of a lie: the 1370 Brussels
 accusation that Jews desecrated the Holy Host. From its thin medieval
 traces\, the story grew into a grand civic myth\, told through paintings\,
 processions\, and stained glass\, that came to define Brussels’ religious
 and urban identity for centuries. Cassen will explore how this legend was
 used to serve both church and state\, and how even after the Holocaust\,
 efforts at reconciliation stopped short of confronting its falsehood. In
 tracing the evolution of one fabricated story\, we’ll consider what
 happens when myth becomes history—and whether it is possible to undo that
 transformation.\n\nDr. Flora Cassen was born and raised in Antwerp\,
 Belgium. She attended college in Brussels\, where she studied history and
 law. She moved to the US to continue her studies\, earning an MA in
 comparative history from Brandeis University and a Ph.D. in Jewish History
 from New York University. She has taught European and Jewish history at the
 University of Vermont\, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill\,
 and Washington University in Saint Louis\, where she also served as chair
 of the Department of Jewish\, Islamic\, and Middle Eastern Studies. She is
 also senior faculty at the Shalom Hartman Institute.\n\nCassen’s book\,
 Marking the Jews in Renaissance Italy: Politics\, Religion\, and the Power
 of Symbols\, published by Cambridge University Press\, explores the history
 of the yellow badges and hats Jews were compelled to wear in Italy during
 the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The book sheds light on the origins
 and implications of Renaissance anti-Judaism\, examining its impact on both
 Italian Jews and Christians. She has also contributed numerous articles to
 academic journals and essay collections\, creating a body of work that
 explores various aspects of early Modern Jewish life in Italy and the
 Spanish Empire\, including anti-Judaism\, dress\, travel\, espionage\, and
 food. Flora’s forthcoming book on antisemitism is slated for publication
 in March with the New Jewish Press\, an imprint of the University of
 Toronto Press.\n\nBridging the gap between academia and the general
 public\, Flora also writes for broader audiences. Her articles have
 appeared in publications such as Haaretz\, Slate\, The Conversation\,
 Psyche/Aeon\, Smithsonian Magazine\, and The Forward.\n\nAll WIJS
 programming is open to women and men.  Please visit www.yinr.org/wijs to
 view the complete WIJS 2025-26 schedule.  For more information\, to be
 added to the WIJS email list\, or for Zoom information\, please call
 914-636-2215 or email: wijs@yinr.org.  Individuals on the WIJS mailing
 list will automatically receive the Zoom information.
CATEGORIES:Lecture
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