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Nov 22 min read

Exhibition Opening: The Wandering Jew

The Parkes Institute is delighted to host the launch of 'The Wandering Jew’ travelling exhibition, curated by Anoushka Alexander-Rose, with the support of Charlie Knight. Reframing the Wandering Jew from its origins in medieval Christian myth, this exhibition presents how the legend evolves across time and cultures. It draws on an expansive set of sources including Romantic and Gothic literature, Yiddish drama, Jewish visual art, Rabbinic sermons, Nazi and anti-Nazi film, and 21st century regenderings of the myth. A particular highlight is a specially commissioned print, ‘Flight’, by artist and sculptor David Hochhauser. These diverse forms and genres reflect the relevance of the Wandering Jew, representing Jewish exilic experience but also more widely universal themes of myth, migration and memory.


Come along to the Southampton launch of this exhibition before, much like the Wandering Jew, it travels across the UK. The curator will introduce the project and give a reading of the first translation of ‘Agasfer’ by Vladimir Nabokov, after which attendees are invited to explore the exhibition along with refreshments.


We are particularly grateful to the German History Society and Jewish Historical Society of England for their generous financial support, to Lisa Lampert-Weissig and the research of her latest monograph, Instrument of Memory: Encounters with the Wandering Jew (University of Michigan Press, 2024), and for insights and contributions from the wider Parkes Institute academic community (in particular Charlie Knight for visuals, and also Noëmie Duhaut, Neil Gregor, Tony Kushner, Claire Le Foll, and Katie Power).


Speaker

Anoushka Alexander-Rose is a final year doctoral researcher in English at the University of Southampton. Alongside her thesis, ‘Vladimir Nabokov’s Jewish Muse’, she has a long interest in the legend of the Wandering Jew and its literary and visual representations, especially as a reclaimed figure of refusal by twentieth century and post-Holocaust European writers and artists. As Outreach Fellow for the Parkes Institute, Anoushka has organised Inter Faith Week events, walking tours, film screenings and school workshops, and so is particularly excited to have the opportunity to present her research on the Wandering Jew to a public audience.


Event information

This event will be held in-person.

Refreshments Included.

If you have any questions about this event please contact parkes@soton.ac.uk




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