Culture in Exile: Sephardic Legacy in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Dr. Aleksandra Bunčić (Starr Fellow in Judaica, 2018–19; Fellow of the Standing Committee on Medieval Studies, 2019–20, Harvard University) on the Sephardic heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
An exploration of the fertile intellectual, artistic, religious and cultural landscape of Sephardic Jews — Jews originating in Babylonia, emigrating to Spain in the early Middle Ages, and therefrom in 1492. Our focus is upon the Sephardic heritage of Bosnia, as a distinctive but interdependent strand in the rich and diverse tapestry of traditions — Christian, Muslim, and Jewish — that comprises the wider Bosnian culture.
The lecture illuminates aspects of the architecture, literature, art, and music of Sephardim of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the 16th century through the present, and challenges us to consider the development of Sephardic culture within the multilingual and multireligious context of the region.
About the instructor
Dr. Aleksandra Buncic served as the Starr Fellow in Judaica (2018–19) and a Fellow of the Standing Committee on Medieval Studies (2019–20) at Harvard University.