Spinoza and Us: Why Spinoza Speaks to the Present

This class explores reflections on how Weimar Jewish obsession with a 17th century banned Jew speaks to our own concerns about antisemitism, intellectual freedom, and the validity of law. We will look to texts by and about Spinoza in order to glean why so many Jews and non-Jews see Spinoza as a particularly timely source of provocation and guidance.

Eugene Sheppard is a Professor of Modern Jewish History and Thought in the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University. He serves as the interim director of the Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry at Brandeis and is an editor for Brandeis University Press. He published in the Jewish Review of Books, The Times Literary Supplement, and has made appearances on a number of podcasts. Sheppard is currently teaching a course entitled "Spinoza Now".