Western Culture, the Holocaust, and the Persistence of Antisemitism

ISGAP

Speaker: Dr. Catherine Chatterley Affiliation: Department of History, University of Manitoba; Founding Director, Canadian Institute for the Study of Antisemitism (CISA) Title: "Western Culture, the Holocaust, and the Persistence of Antisemitism" Convener: Dr. Charles Asher Small, Founder and Executive Director, Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) Location: Yale University, New Haven, CT Date: March 5, 2009 Description: Dr. Catherine Chatterley examines the persistence of antisemitism in post-Holocaust Western culture and whether Holocaust education has failed to educate the public about the specific nature and history of antisemitism. She goes on to question whether it is possible that the strategy of Holocaust universalization -- a strategy perceived as making the Holocaust accessible to non-Jews -- has worked against achieving an adequate understanding of antisemitism and subsequently against the eradication of antisemitic discourse and thinking from Western culture.