“UB Launches David Blitzer Lectures in Jewish Studies - University at Buffalo Reporter” plus 4 more

UB Launches David Blitzer Lectures in Jewish Studies - University at Buffalo Reporter
Scott Carson signs up to Roberto Di Matteo's new philosophy West ... - Daily Telegraph
Tundra keeps Ravens inside - Weblogs.baltimoresun.com
20 Under 40: Gridiron lessons help VP tackle life - Waterloo Cedar-Falls Courier
Gridiron lessons help VP tackle life - Waterloo Cedar-Falls Courier

UB Launches David Blitzer Lectures in Jewish Studies - University at Buffalo Reporter

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 11:58 AM PST

News Release

Series endowed by journalist Wolf Blitzer to bring major scholars of Jewish thought to Buffalo

Aaron Hughes will present the first lecture of the David Blitzer Lectures in Jewish Studies on Feb. 4.

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Philosopher and author Kenneth Seeskin will lecture at UB on March 25.

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Philosopher Lenn Goodman will discuss Maimonides on April 8.

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Contact

Patricia Donovan

pdonovan@buffalo.edu

716-645-4602

Release Date: January 8, 2010

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo Institute of Jewish Thought and Heritage will present the first David Blitzer Lecture Series in Jewish Studies Feb. 4 to April 22.

The series will feature seven free public talks on and off campus by four exceptional scholars in the field of Jewish philosophy: Aaron Hughes, Kenneth Seeskin, Lenn E. Goodman and Richard Sugarman.

The series was endowed by author and CNN journalist Wolf Blitzer, a 1970 graduate of UB and 1999 recipient of a SUNY honorary doctorate in humane letters, in honor of his late father David, a Jewish Polish refugee.

With the exception of the inaugural lecture on Feb. 4, all speakers in the series will present two free public talks: an afternoon lecture at UB and an evening talk on a related topic in the Jewish Community Center, 2640 North Forest Rd., Getzville.

The series will open with "Why We Should All Be Medieval Jewish Philosophers," a lecture by the associate director of the UB institute, Aaron W. Hughes, PhD, Gordon and Gretchen Gross Professor of Jewish Studies in the UB Department of History.

It will take place at 5 p.m. on Feb. 4 in UB's Jacobs Executive Development Center, Delaware Avenue at North Street, Buffalo. Due to space restrictions, attendance will be by invitation only.

Hughes will introduce medieval Jewish philosophy as a living and engaged conversation with Judaism that took religious belief and practice seriously.

"Rather than circumscribe this attitude by making it the product of the 'dark ages' or 'middle ages,'" Hughes says, "I argue that these thinkers engaged Judaism intellectually and the various ways in which they synthesized Torah study and secular study is a worthy model for emulation in the present."

Hughes has taught at McMaster University (Ontario, Canada), the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Calgary (Alberta, Canada). He is the author of more than 40 articles and book chapters and seven books in the field of Jewish thought, among them "Texture of the Divine: Imagination in Medieval Islamic and Jewish Thought" (2004), "The Art of Dialogue in Jewish Philosophy" (2008) and, forthcoming with Elliot R. Wolfson, "New Directions in Jewish Philosophy" (2010).

On March 25 the guest speaker will be noted philosopher and author Kenneth Seeskin, PhD, Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Professor of Jewish Civilization in the Department of Philosophy at Northwestern University, where he specializes in Jewish philosophy, ancient and medieval philosophy and the philosophy of religion.

Seeskin uses classic texts in the history of philosophy to shed light on problems of perennial interest. In keeping with that, he will present a 3 p.m. lecture in 120 Clemens Hall, UB North Campus, titled "From Maimonides to Spinoza: Three Versions of an Intellectual Transition" in which he will consider the philosopher as a critic, inheritor or purifier of the Jewish philosophical tradition. Seeskin maintains that Spinoza, having become fed up with his attempt to make sense of the great 13th century Torah scholar, decided to put philosophy on an entirely new footing.

At 7 p.m., Seeskin will present a lecture, "Is Judaism Really Monotheistic?" at the Jewish Community Center. The talk will ask whether or not we even know what monotheism is and, in terms of specific definitions, if Judaism measures up.

Seeskin's prodigious publication record in Jewish philosophy includes "Jewish Philosophy in a Secular Age" (1990); "Maimonides: A Guide for Today's Perplexed" (1991); "No Other Gods: The Modern Struggle Against Idolatry" (1995); "Searching for a Distant God: The Legacy of Maimonides" (2000), which won the Koret Jewish Book Award; "Autonomy in Jewish Philosophy" (2001); "Maimonides on the Origin of the World" (2005); and more than 30 scholarly articles and chapters in books. In 2005 he edited the "Cambridge Companion to Maimonides."

The series will continue on April 8 with Lenn E. Goodman, DPhil, professor of philosophy and Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Vanderbilt University.

At 3 p.m. in 120 Clemens Hall, he will present the lecture, "Maimonides Reads the Muslim Philosophers."

Goodman's philosophical interests center on metaphysics and ethics, and he has paid special attention over the years to Islamic and Jewish philosophical thought and their creative interactions.

He notes that, although widely recognized as the greatest figure in the history of Jewish philosophy, Maimonides did not confine himself to mastery of the biblical and rabbinic canon. He knew the Arabic texts of the great Greek philosophers, and his appreciation of the great Arab and Muslim philosophical masters deeply informed his work.

At 7 p.m., Goodman will deliver the talk "Genesis and Philosophy" in the Jewish Community Center, in which he will cast light on the biblical vision of nature and thus on today's vexed questions about the proper relations between religion and science, and between religion and the norms by which we live.

Goodman's books include "Islamic Humanism" (2003), "In Defense of Truth: A Pluralistic Approach" (2001), "Jewish & Islamic Philosophy: Crosspollinations in the Classic Age" (2000), "Judaism, Human Rights & Human Values, God of Abraham, Avicenna" (1998), "On Justice: An Essay in Jewish Philosophy" (1991) and "Gifford Lectures, Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself" (2007).

A winner of the American Philosophical Association Baumgardt Prize and the Gratz Centennial Prize, Goodman has lectured widely in the U.S. and in Israel, Australia and Europe. He has translated and commented on a number of classic Jewish and Islamic texts.

The final lecture will take place April 22 at 3 p.m. in 509 O'Brian Hall in the UB Law School, North Campus, and will feature Richard Sugarman, PhD, professor, Department of Religion, University of Vermont, where he directs the Integrated Humanities Program.

A Buffalo native and expert on the work of French-Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, Sugarman is the editor of several books including "Rancor Against Time: The Phenomenology of Ressentiment" (1980). He is co-author of "Reclaiming the Humanities: The Roots of Self-Knowledge in the Greek and Biblical Traditions" (1986) and, with Roger B. Duncan, edited "The Promise of Phenomenology: Posthumous Papers of John Wild" (2006).

His talk, "The Scandal of Heidegger and the Re-abilitation of Continental Thought by Levinas," will consider the long shadow cast over Heidegger's philosophical accomplishments by his unrepentant Nazism. It also will look at Levinas' presentation of existential philosophy and phenomenology as alternatives to moral relativism, egocentrism and nihilism.

At 7 p.m., Sugarman will present the lecture "On Generational Responsibility (Jewish and Philosophical Perspectives)" in the Jewish Community Center, in which he will consider Levinas' perspective on our obligations, not only to future generations, but relative to the pasts of others.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.

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Scott Carson signs up to Roberto Di Matteo's new philosophy West ... - Daily Telegraph

Posted: 07 Jan 2010 11:34 PM PST

By Sandy Macaskill
Published: 7:30AM GMT 08 Jan 2010

James Morrison got his own back on Carson for filling his car with the white stuff by making a snowman and positioning it in the passenger seat of the goalkeeper's vehicle, complete with gap-toothed grin and the seat belt done up, to slowly melt during training.

"It was good banter, to be fair," Carson's dryly observed. "It is important to be able to give each other some stick."

It is good to see some smiles about the place after a miserable 2008/09 season. Carson believes that the team spirit is "better than last season" and while one imagines any team would be chipper if they were second in the Championship and playing well, it has much to do with the different approach taken by their new manager.

Loyal to the last, Carson is reluctant to criticise Tony Mowbray's much-maligned philosophy of pretty football, but he does accept that the players would rather have played in the style, say, of Stoke and stayed up.

"Tony wanted to play the game in the right way, which was fair enough, but we'd have settled for being where Stoke were if we'd not play such nice football," Carson said

Things have changed under Roberto Di Matteo. The former Chelsea midfielder has a different mentality to his predecessor, and he told the players in a team meeting on his first day that he wants to win the title, not a beauty prize.

And according to Carson, it had a rejuvenating effect on his squad.

"He wants us to play football, but to be meaner, to stand up to teams," Carson said. "It lifted a bit of pressure.

"Everybody was thinking we were going to have to play nice football in the Championship, so when he came in and said that, he took pressure off our shoulders. We could battle instead of playing nice football."

Carson has signed up to Di Matteo's philosophy wholeheartedly, and been named captain, but in accepting the responsibility he has had to change his approach to his conduct, especially after defeats.

"After a loss, I'd normally be disappointed, and maybe say things in the heat of the moment," Carson said. "But I have to be more calm, and try to be more positive."

It is a work in process. Friday night's fixture with Nottingham Forest is Carson's first league match back after a three-match suspension for using his head on Michael Chopra.

The Cardiff striker caught Carson in the area after the ball had been and gone, and, at 1-0 down, the red mist descended.

"I won't get involved in anything like that again for the rest of my career," the 24 year-old vowed. "I should have just got on with the game, but something took over."

There are worse matches to come back to. Carson played in Albion's 2-0 win over Huddersfield in the FA Cup at the weekend, but the league is where the heart lies, and Forest, two points behind and unbeaten in 17 matches, represent a tough challenge.

Moreover, Albion want to set up their trip to Newcastle in 10 days' time. How West Brom fare in the two matches will have a serious influence on their promotion chances.

And Carson has another reason to be desperate for promotion: it would boost his international aspirations ahead of the World Cup.

"To go would be amazing, but I don't see how I could influence it except by playing well," he accepted. "I've totally put it to the back of my mind.

"If it comes to the end of the season and we are promoted then that can only be a positive for myself."

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Tundra keeps Ravens inside - Weblogs.baltimoresun.com

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 12:34 PM PST

The Ravens practiced indoors all this week in preparation for Sunday's wild-card playoff game in New England. The forecast for Foxboro, Mass., on Sunday is 25 degrees, but with no precipitation.

Coach John Harbaugh's philosophy has been to practice outdoors if the team is playing outdoors that week. He explained the change in philosophy during today's media session.

"We've had some of our sessions outside," Harbaugh said. "The fields, right now, don't allow us to go out there as much as we want from a footing standpoint. They're frozen. Probably, if they weren't frozen, we would have been out there more, but we had it as cold as we cold get it in here [the indoor facility]. ... And we're playing on turf, so we just felt like that was a prioirty -- the footing was a priority."

Previous coach Brian Billick was criticized for being soft on his players by taking them inside in inclement weather. That has not been Harbaugh's MO in his two years here, however.

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20 Under 40: Gridiron lessons help VP tackle life - Waterloo Cedar-Falls Courier

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 01:03 PM PST

By JIM OFFNER, jim.offner@wcfcourier.com | Posted: Friday, January 8, 2010 3:00 pm

13th in a series of profiles of Cedar Valley Business Monthly 20 Under 40 winners.

CEDAR FALLS - To a committed athlete, sports is life - even long after one's playing days are done.

That is certainly Chris Reade's philosophy. Once a football player at Wartburg College, Reade subsequently spent seven years as a coach at the Waverly school, trying to pass along the benefits of his philosophy and experience to Knights players.

That dedication to teamwork, goal-setting and execution continues in Reade's current position as vice president of property development at Barmuda Cos.

Sports served as an ideal foundation for building a career at Barmuda, Reade said.

"I'd say the sports I was involved with in college really shaped me quite a bit," Reade said. "It's a team atmosphere and doesn't allow you to be selfish."

Reade's list of volunteer activities seems to back up that contention. It includes helping with the Bible school at Orchard Hill Church in Cedar Falls, coaching junior-high football players in a National Football League-sponsored youth program - Junior Player Development - and helping needy individuals with various construction projects.

"It comes from my family background, too," he said. "I have a very grounded family. I grew up on a farm, and if a neighbor needed help bailing a couple of racks of hay I went over and helped. It's just the way I grew up."

Reade, who grew up in Wyoming, Iowa, earned a bachelor's degree in business management with a minor in sociology at Wartburg.

He has held his current position with Barmuda for 4 1/2 years and has been with the company since 1996.

The best preparation for his current position, Reade said, was past involvement in construction.

"My job is construction-based, so I'm a big fan of learning things hands-on," he said.

The Wartburg experience, where Reade had a chance to learn to play on both offensive and defensive lines and then pass along those lessons to younger players, was illustrative of that point.

"I'd say the leadership qualities of what I do now is probably more so from my coaching," he said. "I had to lead people into battle on the field."

His advice to others trying to get started in reaching success at an early age?

"I think you just pull from the resources of your past and find your own personal philosophy and stick with it," Reade said.

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Gridiron lessons help VP tackle life - Waterloo Cedar-Falls Courier

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 12:56 PM PST