Please save the dates for Irene’s upcoming virtual lectures:
New City Library New York, April 29th at 7:00 PM
Revisiting Scandinavia Post-October 7th
Join Irene Shaland, for a meaningful virtual journey through Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. While known for stunning fjords and modern design, these nations hold a wealth of compelling, often hidden, Jewish stories that resonate deeply with our shared heritage.
This is a chance to connect with the past and learn about the disturbing present: We will delve into the vibrant Jewish communities that once thrived in the region, examine the role each nation played during the Holocaust, and gain insight into contemporary Jewish life in Scandinavia. This exclusive presentation offers a unique and personal window into the rich tapestry of Scandinavia, seen through a distinctly Jewish lens.
Registration: https://newcity.librarycalendar.com/event/rediscovering-scandinavia-post-october-7th-through-eyes-jewish-traveler-73744
On Tuesday, May 19th, at 11:00 AM, the Baltimore Zionist District organization will host Irene’s newest lecture centered on the great modernist writer Franz Kafka.
Emergence of a New Phenomenon: The Secular Jew — Understanding Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka stands at the crossroads of one of the most fascinating transformations in modern Jewish history: the rise of the secular, urban, German‑speaking Jew in Central Europe. His life and work illuminate a world where Jewish identity was both ever‑present and almost unspeakable — a tension that shaped an entire generation.
Join Irene in this journey into identity, memory, and the Jewish soul of one of the greatest modern writers — a story as relevant today as it was a century ago.
Irene’s new lecture explores the deep, thousand‑year Jewish presence in the Czech lands — Bohemia, Moravia, and Prague — and the dramatic cultural shift that produced a new kind of Jew at the turn of the 20th century. By the late 1800s, most Czech Jews identified with German culture, lived in cosmopolitan cities, and navigated a complex dual identity that was both empowering and precarious. At the center of this story stands Franz Kafka (1883–1924): born Jewish, raised Jewish, and yet famously silent about Judaism in his fiction. And still, his diaries, letters, and private reflections reveal a man who wrestled intensely with what it meant to be a Jew in modern Europe. He studied Yiddish and Hebrew, immersed himself in Jewish theater, and sensed — with uncanny clarity — the catastrophe that would soon engulf European Jewry.
In this presentation, we will explore:
- Kafka in Prague — the Jewish city that shaped him
- Prague in Kafka — the shadows of identity, alienation, and belonging that permeate his writing
- The paradox of Jewish presence and Jewish silence in his literary world
- How Kafka’s Jewishness influenced his imagination, even when unspoken
- Why Kafka foresaw the coming destruction of European Jewry long before others did
Together, we will confront the central question:
If Kafka had not been born and raised as a Jew, would he have become Kafka?
Registration information will be announced at a later date.
Learn more about the presenter Irene Shaland: https://amzn.to/3DM6rDk