VI Krakow Jewish Studies Conference: Boundaries

Name: VI Krakow Jewish Studies Conference: Boundaries
Start: 2026-05-27T08:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-05-28T18:00:00+02:00
Location: Instytut Judaistyki Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego

Schedule

Wed, 27 May, 2026 at 08:00 am to Thu, 28 May, 2026 at 06:00 pm

UTC+02:00

Location

Instytut Judaistyki Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego | Krakow, MA

We are pleased to announce the VI Krakow Jewish Studies Conference: Boundaries, which will be held in person in Krakow on 27-28 May 2026 in the Institute of Jewish Studies at the Jagiellonian University.
We invite undergraduate, graduate, and PhD
students to submit their proposals. The deadline for submissions is 25 March 2026.
Boundaries have played a central role in shaping Jewish identities, communities, and relationships – both within Jewish societies and in relation to the Other. At the same time, Jewish historical and
cultural experiences are deeply marked by the crossing, negotiation, and renegotiation of boundaries: geographic, social, linguistic, cultural, religious, and symbolic.
This conference seeks to explore boundaries not only as lines of division or exclusion, but also as zones of contact, exchange, tension, and transformation. We especially welcome contributions that address processes of boundary-making, boundary-crossing and liminality in Jewish contexts across time and space.
Possible topics include (but are not limited to):
• Geographic boundaries, borders, and mobility (migration, exile, diaspora)
• Transnational connections and networks: Jewish communities across borders, diasporic interactions, and global entanglements
• Social boundaries: class, gender, sexuality, generation, and power
• Religious and legal boundaries within Judaism and between religions
• Linguistic boundaries: multilingualism, translation, and language contact
• Cultural boundaries and cultural transfer
• Jewish–non-Jewish interactions and shared spaces
• Boundaries of identity, belonging, and otherness
• Transgression, conversion and boundary-crossing
• Spatial boundaries: sacred/profane, public/private, urban/rural
Submission
Submissions for participation in the conference should be sent by 25 March 2026. Please submit the abstract of the paper (max. 400 words) with bibliography and a short bio via submission form (https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/P17Seir28x).
All submitters will be notified of the acceptance or rejection of their proposals by 1 April 2026.
Practical information
• There will be no conference fee.
• The language of the conference will be English.
• Each participant will have up to 20 minutes to present their paper.
• We plan to publish a special volume of our journal Judaista, featuring articles based on the papers presented during the conference.
• For inquiries please contact: [email protected].
• More information can be found on the conference website (https://knsij.judaistyka.uj.edu.pl/boundaries-conference).
We encourage you to share this information with colleagues, students, and anyone who may be interested in participating.
The Organizing Committee reserves the right to select submissions based on the recommendations of the Scientific Committee.
The Organizing Committee
• Karolina Bielak
• Zofia Domagalska
• Julia Głombik
• Marta Kozaczewska
• Krzysztof Trela
• Barbara Zając
The Scientific Committee
• Prof. Maciej Tomal
• Dr Alicja Maślak-Maciejewska
• Dr Karolina Koprowska