Masterclass with the Volkswagen Momentum Senior Fellow Dr. Avner Ofrath: Judeo-Arabic Journalism in the Maghreb: Texts, Genres and Language Choices, c. 1870–1920

Date: 16.09.2026-17.09.2026
Time: Will be announced soon
Venue: Will be announced soon

On 16–17 September 2026, the Munich Research Centre for Jewish-Arabic Cultures will host a two-day masterclass with Dr. Avner Ofrath, Senior Research Fellow in the Volkswagen Momentum Programme From Pre-Modern to Modern Perspectives in Judaic Studies.

Bringing together close textual analysis and broader historical perspectives, the masterclass explores the rich yet little-known world of Judeo-Arabic journalism in the colonial Maghreb. Through a close reading of selected periodicals (English translations will be provided), participants will examine questions of authorship and readership, local and global perspectives, and the interplay of Judeo-Arabic, Hebrew, French, and Spanish in the emerging Jewish press. Particular attention will be paid to the role of different literary genres in shaping a vibrant vernacular public sphere.
Dr. Ofrath is Alfred Landecker Lecturer in History at Freie Universität Berlin. His research focuses on the social, cultural, and intellectual history of Arabic-speaking Jews, with particular interests in Judeo-Arabic language, print culture, and modern Jewish thought in the Middle East and North Africa. His current research traces the connected history of Judeo-Arabic writing across the Maghrib and Mashriq, examining how writers revived Judeo-Arabic as a language of political expression, modernity, and Jewish identity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Preliminary Schedule:

Wednesday, Septermber 16th, 2026

Session I: Introduction – Jewish Books and Print Culture in the Pre-Colonial and Colonial Maghreb
An overview of Jewish print culture in the Maghreb through selected texts and sources.

Session II: Language Structures and Choices
In this section, we will trace the interplay of colloquial Arabic, Hebrew, French, and Spanish in the emerging Judeo-Arabic press, paying particular attention to language choices, and multilingual practices in the nascent genres of news reports, readers’ letters and serialized novels.

Thrusday, Septermber 17th, 2026

Session III: Sites and Boundaries
This section will be dedicated to visions and portrayals of different physical and social spaces—from the home and the congregation to the polity and the wider Jewish world. Focusing on the well-established practice of travel writing in the Jewish world and on the emerging genre of opinion articles, we will discuss how writers imagined and negotiated the boundaries of private and public, sacred and profane.

Session IV: Conclusion
Building on the close reading of the previous sessions, this concluding, open discussion is an opportunity to discuss the broader scholarly implications and ethical stakes of research on modern Judeo-Arabic writing.

Further details, including registration information, will be announced soon.