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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 C
 assen 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\, Novembe
 r 4\, 2025 @ 8:15 pm (ET) on Zoom.  Cassen will be the first speaker of t
 he 2025-2026 season in the monthly scholarly programming offered by WIJS a
 t YINR.\n\nDr. Cassen’s lecture is entitled\, “When Myth Becomes Histo
 ry: The Brussels Host Desecration Accusation\, 1370–Today.”  The disc
 ussion will follow the remarkable afterlife of a lie: the 1370 Brussels ac
 cusation that Jews desecrated the Holy Host. From its thin medieval traces
 \, the story grew into a grand civic myth\, told through paintings\, proce
 ssions\, and stained glass\, that came to define Brussels’ religious and
  urban identity for centuries. Cassen will explore how this legend was use
 d to serve both church and state\, and how even after the Holocaust\, effo
 rts at reconciliation stopped short of confronting its falsehood. In traci
 ng the evolution of one fabricated story\, we’ll consider what happens w
 hen myth becomes history—and whether it is possible to undo that transfo
 rmation.\n\nDr. Flora Cassen was born and raised in Antwerp\, Belgium. She
  attended college in Brussels\, where she studied history and law. She mov
 ed to the US to continue her studies\, earning an MA in comparative histor
 y from Brandeis University and a Ph.D. in Jewish History from New York Uni
 versity. She has taught European and Jewish history at the University of V
 ermont\, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill\, and Washington 
 University in Saint Louis\, where she also served as chair of the Departme
 nt of Jewish\, Islamic\, and Middle Eastern Studies. She is also senior fa
 culty at the Shalom Hartman Institute.\n\nCassen’s book\, Marking the Je
 ws in Renaissance Italy: Politics\, Religion\, and the Power of Symbols\, 
 published by Cambridge University Press\, explores the history of the yell
 ow badges and hats Jews were compelled to wear in Italy during the fifteen
 th and sixteenth centuries. The book sheds light on the origins and implic
 ations of Renaissance anti-Judaism\, examining its impact on both Italian 
 Jews and Christians. She has also contributed numerous articles to academi
 c journals and essay collections\, creating a body of work that explores v
 arious 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 w
 ith the New Jewish Press\, an imprint of the University of Toronto Press.\
 n\nBridging the gap between academia and the general public\, Flora also w
 rites for broader audiences. Her articles have appeared in publications su
 ch as Haaretz\, Slate\, The Conversation\, Psyche/Aeon\, Smithsonian Magaz
 ine\, 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 schedu
 le.  For more information\, to be added to the WIJS email list\, or for Z
 oom information\, please call 914-636-2215 or email: wijs@yinr.org.  Ind
 ividuals on the WIJS mailing list will automatically receive the Zoom info
 rmation.
CATEGORIES:Lecture
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