EUGENE–Steven J. Zipperstein, head of Jewish studies at Stanford University, will give the second annual Singer Lecture in Judaic Studies at the University of Oregon.

The free public talk, "Rewriting Lives, Rethinking Literary Biography: On Isaac Rosenfeld, Saul Bellow, and Jewish Literature in Twentieth-Century America," will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4, in the Alumni Lounge at Gerlinger Hall, 1468 University St. A reception will follow.

Zipperstein is the Taube Director of the Program in Jewish Studies and the Daniel E. Koshland Professor in Jewish Culture and History at Stanford University. The lecture is sponsored by the University of Oregon’s Singer Family Visiting Scholars Fund in Judaic Studies and by the Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies.

Zipperstein is a widely recognized Jewish historian. On the faculty at Oxford University for six years, he also has taught at universities in France, Israel, Russia and Poland. His work has appeared in many languages, including Hebrew, Russian and French.

Among Zipperstein’s many publications are the "The Jews of Odessa: A Cultural History, 1794-1881" and "Elusive Prophet: Ahad Ha’am and the Origins of Zionism," which won the 1994 National Jewish Book Award. His most recent book, published last summer, is entitled "Imagining Russian Jewry: Memory, History, Identity." Currently, he is writing a biography of the American novelist and literary critic, Isaac Rosenfeld.

Zipperstein’s numerous awards and honors include the Judah L. Magnes Gold Medal from the American Friends of the Hebrew University, and the Koret Prize for outstanding contributions to Jewish life. In addition, he has held fellowships at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Jerusalem, at Wolfson College, Oxford, and this spring, he will be among the first fellows at the Institute for Advanced Studies of the Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv.

For more information, contact the UO Judaic Studies Program at (541) 346-5288.

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