Join us for two hybrid Levy Lectures with author and linguistics professor Judith Levi, presented in person in Bobby’s Room at the Levy Senior Center and online via Zoom on March 5 and March 12, at 3:30 pm.

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Please note: While each lecture may be attended individually, experiencing both is highly recommended, as together they offer a deeper exploration of overcoming polarization and moving beyond an “Us vs. Them” mindset.

March 5, at 3:30 pm: The Identity Paradox: How Our Multiple Identities Both Divide and Unite Us

In this exploration of universal identity issues—which are at the core of innumerable conflicts around the world— Professor Levi presents insights about identity she has derived from over twenty years of working in German-Jewish dialogue and reconciliation. These insights, both eye-opening and encouraging, concern the complexity of our identities, their many sources, how they influence our "reconciliation readiness" and how we can use our multiple identities to unite instead of divide us—by refocusing on our common humanity.

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March 12, at 3:30 pm: Reconciliation and Forgiveness: Realities, Resistance, and Rewards

Professor Levi discusses the nature and inherent challenges of reconciliation and forgiveness, including how identity issues affect reconciliation readiness, how reconciliation and forgiveness
are both similar and different—and how to reap their profound rewards. The talk presents the major lessons she has learned from more than 20 years of involvement in German-Jewish dialogue and German-Jewish reconciliation, and draws on these key sections from the final chapter of her book:

• Definitions:  What is reconciliation?

• Exclusions:  What is reconciliation NOT?

• Obstacles: What makes reconciliation so hard?

• Facilitators:  What makes reconciliation easier?

• Rewards:  What makes reconciliation worth the effort?

The themes of this talk are of universal relevance, for answering these questions is essential to the well-being of every individual, every group, and every society wishing to transcend past harms and contemporary conflicts.

These hybrid Levy Lectures are free to attend, but registration is required.

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About the presenter:

Born and raised in New York City, Judith Levi has lived in Chicago for over 60 years. She was a linguistics professor at Northwestern University for 29 years,  from 1972 through 2001. During that time, she also served as a free-lance consultant to lawyers on cases involving disputed language. Since leaving academia in 2001, she has dedicated herself to working in German-Jewish dialogue and reconciliation. In 2015, the President of Germany awarded her the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for her “exceptional achievements in promoting reconciliation between the German and Jewish peoples.”  In 2016, her book on her long journey to German-Jewish reconciliation was published in Berlin. Since her first trip to Germany in 1998, she has given over 70 public presentations in the US and Germany, as well as a dozen talks to German high school students, about her surprisingly positive and life-transforming experiences in German-Jewish reconciliation. Drawing on those experiences, she also lectures on these three broader themes that are of relevance to all of us: identity, reconciliation, and forgiveness—and how they are interrelated. For more details, you are invited to view her website at: www.judithnlevi.com.