“But Now God is Not One”:  Kabbalah as the Cry of a Broken World Longing for Redemption

ABOUT THIS LECTURE:

ABOUT THIS SPEAKER:

Nathaniel Berman is the Rahel Varnhagen Professor of International Affairs, Law, and Modern Culture in Brown University’s Religious Studies Department. For much of his career, Berman’s scholarship focused on the construction of modern internationalism through its relationships to nationalism, colonialism, and religion. In particular, it has examined early 20th century internationalism as one of the sites of the invention of cultural modernism. Berman’s work on these issues has been broadly interdisciplinary, drawing on literary criticism, cultural studies, post-colonial theory, and religious studies. More recently, Berman’s work has focused more directly on the relationship between religion and legal and political theory. He has also embarked on several major projects in the area of Judaic Studies. For several years, he co-directed Brown’s Religion and Internationalism Project, a joint venture between the Cogut Institute and Brown’s Religious Studies Department.

A summa cum laude graduate of Yale College, Berman received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, and his PhD in Jewish Studies from University College London. Before coming to Brown, Berman was a professor of law at Brooklyn Law School and Northeastern University School of Law. He began his teaching career as the Mellon Lecturer in Law and the Social Order at Amherst College. He has also held visiting appointments at institutions including Columbia Law School, Stanford University, the University of Paris-I, and Sciences Po.