The Transfer of Jewish Thought from Prewar Germany to Postwar France
A Special Issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444) belonging to the section "Religions and Humanities/Philosophies".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 December 2026 | Viewed by 193
Editors
Interests: Jewish thought; Talmudic literature; continental philosophy; hermeneutics and translation; political philosophy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The twentieth century witnessed a profound displacement and transformation of Jewish thought within Europe. The destruction of German–Jewish intellectual life during the Nazi period, culminating in the Holocaust, marked not only the annihilation of a major cultural center but also a rupture in a philosophical tradition that had played a decisive role in European modernity. At roughly the same historical moment, the Establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 introduced a new political horizon for Jewish life and contributed to a broader reconfiguration of the relation between Jews and Europe. In the decades that followed, France emerged as an important site for the rearticulation of Jewish thought. This development unfolded within a rapidly changing historical landscape marked by the aftermath of the war, the questioning of European universalism, and the transformations associated with decolonization.
The end of the French empire in North Africa brought large Jewish communities from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia to France, reshaping the social and cultural landscape of French Jewish life. Within this context, ideas originating in prewar German and German–Jewish thought were translated, appropriated, and transformed. The reception of thinkers such as Franz Rosenzweig and Walter Benjamin in the work of postwar French philosophers—including Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida—thus formed part of a broader process of intellectual reinterpretation. The essays in this issue examine this transfer as a creative transformation through which Jewish thought became a key site for rethinking the relation between philosophy, religion, language, and the changing place of Europe in the postwar world.
We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 150–200 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editors, Prof. Dr. Elad Lapidot (elad.lapidot@univ-lille.fr) and Dr. Bat Chen Laila Seri (bat_chen_laila.seri@ctr.lu.se), and cc the Assistant Editor, Ms. Joyce Xi (joyce.xi@mdpi.com), of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of this Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Elad Lapidot
Dr. Bat Chen Laila Seri
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- German-Jewish thought
- French Jewish thought
- Franz Rosenzweig
- Walter Benjamin
- Emmanuel Levinas
- Jacques Derrida
- European universalism
- decolonization
- translation
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