III International Congress of Sephardic Studies: Jews in the Mediterranean and their Diasporas: Economic, Social and Cultural Intersections

October 21-23, 2025

School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon

Call for proposals is open from September 12, 2024, until January 30, 2025

Cooordination Committee | Elias Salgado (CEJA, Brazil), Regina Igel (University of Maryland, EUA / CEJA, Brazil), Adriana Abuhab Bialski (FFLCH / CEJ-USP / CEJA, Brazil), José Alberto Tavim (CH–ULisboa, Portugal), Ângela Benoliel Coutinho (CICS–NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal) e João Teles e Cunha (Portuguese Catholic University, Portugal)

Organisation | Centre for Jewish Studies of the Amazon (CEJA) e Centre for History of the University of Lisbon (CH-ULisboa)

Download poster | Download CFP | Offiial Website

The III International Congress of Sephardic Studies (III CIES), organized on the initiative of the Center for Jewish Studies of the Amazon (CEJA), and co-organized by the Center for History of the University of Lisbon, has as its theme "Jews in the Mediterranean and their Diasporas: Economic, Social and Cultural Intersections". This theme is of profound significance as it aims to encompass all who have lived in and beyond this geographical area, whether through immigration, sporadic passage, or escape routes. It includes a wide range of communities, ranging from Jews of Iberian and Berber origin, the Romaniotes, the Italkim, the Mizrahim, those of medieval France, “of the Pope” (in this case, those residing in the Comtat Venaissin and Avignon), and the Ashkenazi Jews fleeing through Portugal during World War II to settle in the Americas.

Fernand Braudel, speaking of the dispersion of the Iberian Jews, writes: "If we wanted to mark the Jewish dispersion on the scale of the Great Mediterranean and the world, we would easily find them in Goa, in Aden, in Persia (...)."[1] As the French historian exemplifies, the Greater Mediterranean has, among other protagonists, the Jews who established Portuguese and Spanish communities in the south of France, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Livorno, Smyrna, London, and many other places. As seen in the studies of contemporary scholars like Jonathan Israel [2], this same dispersion from the Mediterranean flows into the American continent and parts of Asia and Africa. The Jews of these communities belonged to a Mediterranean world that had been eradicated or settled in different contexts, whose interactions should also be considered as an object of study by the III CIES. We will, therefore, consider the various existential dimensions mirrored in their multiple diasporas throughout the Old and New Worlds and other continents. We will not forget the complex issues of their identification and affiliation, such as the relationship between converts (to Christianity or Islam) and those who have always maintained a Jewish identity.

David Abulafia wrote "another" history of the Mediterranean, titled The Great Sea. A Human History of the Mediterranean [3]. Some of the main protagonists of this human history are the Jews. With this Congress, we intend to follow the premises of a total human history, considering the porous reality of these Jews' relations with the surrounding world in the various dimensions of their existence.

[1] Fernand Braudel, O Mediterrâneo e o Mundo Mediterrânico na Época de Filipe II, Lisboa, Publicações D. Quixote, vol. 2, 1984, p. 175.

[2] Jonathan Israel, Diasporas within a Diaspora. Jews, Crypto-Jews and the World Maritime Empires (1540-1740), Leiden, Brill, 2002.

[3] Seguimos a edição de Londres, Penguin Books, 2014.

Call for Papers

The III International Congress of Sephardic Studies (III CIES), organized on the initiative of CEJA (Center for Jewish Studies of the Amazon) in collaboration with the Center for History of the University of Lisbon (CH-U Lisboa), which will act as the host institution, will take place in person on October 21, 22 and 23 in 2025, at the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon. The event has the support of CEJ (Center for Jewish Studies at the University of São Paulo), NIEJ (Interdisciplinary Center for Jewish Studies at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and Tikvah-Jewish Museum of Lisbon.

The call for proposals is open from September 12, 2024, until January 30, 2025. These should be sent to the following email address: cies.ceja@gmail.com

The Congress, considering the history of previous events and the premises set out above, accepts proposals for communication in the fields of Humanities and Human Sciences, i.e., History, History of Art, History of Science, Geography, Literature, Linguistics, Religious Studies, Philosophy, Sociology, Anthropology, Gender and Queer Studies, Musicology and Ethnomusicology, Memory and Museology, Monographs, Cinema, and Fine Arts. Other topics not mentioned here, if presented by scholars on time, will be examined by the Committee of Coordinators.

1. Application

a. This is an academic event, and registration is accepted from professors, independent researchers, and university students pursuing master's and doctoral degrees, undergraduate and postgraduate.

b. The official languages of the Congress are Portuguese, English, Spanish, French, and Ladino.

c. The application must contain the following elements:

Full name of the applicant and proposal title on the email subject line, starting with “III CIES,” and on the proposal itself.
Institutional affiliation (or independent, if applicable).
Contacts (e-mail; optional: WhatsApp - in case of a technical problem during the event).
Area of study in which communication is framed.
Summary of the communication (up to 250 words in Times News Roman 12, single-spaced).
Indication of the language in which the communication will be presented.
Short curriculum vitae (up to 200 words in Times News Roman 12, single-spaced). We reiterate that this data must be sent to the following address: cies.ceja@gmail.com

d. It is suggested that the following be indicated in the 'subject' line: III CIES plus the applicant’s name, followed by the proposal title; in the case of a panel, indicate the coordinator and the other speakers’ names.

e. The evaluation of the proposals will be communicated within the next two weeks after the end of the period they were received.

2. Presentation of the paper

a. Unless applicants make a specific request, the paper will be presented orally in sessions established according to the area of study identified in the submitted proposal.

b. Each paper will be presented in person orally; it may not exceed twenty minutes nor be restricted to less than fifteen minutes.

c. If the presentation will require PowerPoint or any other digital format, the applicant must notify the organization of the III CIES in advance, once the proposal has been approved, to provide the necessary resources.

d. Only the paper’s author should read it to the public. No representative will be allowed.

3. Daily Schedule

a. The organization will publicize the III CIES program shortly after the communications are approved.

b. The event sessions will consist of panels or individual presentations. At the end of the presentations, there will be fifteen minutes for questions and answers.

c. The daily schedule will consist of three work sessions: one in the morning from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., followed by a lunch break. Then, in the afternoon, one from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the other from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (break: 4:30-5:00 p.m.). The sessions will take place in the Lisbon time zone (GMT).

4. Certificate

a. The CIES undertakes to deliver a Certificate of Participation to those who request it after the event, including the name, title of the communication, and presentation date.

b. The Certificate will be sent, in digital form, to the e-mail address indicated in the registration form.

5. Publication

a. If funding is available, the CIES will publish the papers presented at the Congress. In this case, a "Publication Authorization" template will be sent to the authors to be read and signed on time.

b. Texts written in English or Spanish, whose authors accept their publication, must follow the MLA style rules, and texts written in Portuguese must follow the ABNT style

rules.

c. The deadline for sending the final version of your text will be announced at the end of the Congress.