Larry Axel Memorial Lectureship in Religion

From Fall 2008 the Jewish Studies Program and the Religious Studies Program at Purdue award the Larry Axel Memorial Lectureship in Religion, recognizing the achievements of Larry Axel, a former faculty member in the Philosophy Department, chair of Religious Studies, and a founder of the Jewish Studies Program. The Axel Lecture in Religion is presented annually.

Axel Lectures

2022: Eugene Avrutin (University of Illinois), "Racism in Modern Russia: A Short History"

2019: Gary A. Anderson (Notre Dame), "Atonement in the Bible: The Notion and Its Relationship to Easter and the High Holy Days"

2018: James Loeffler (University of Virginia), "Three Days in December: How Zionism, Human Rights, and Genocide Came Together and Fell Apart in 1948"

2017: Brad Gregory (Notre Dame), "Why the Reformation Matters, Whether We Like It or Not"

2016: Tzvi Novick (Notre Dame), "God in the Lab: Technical Expertise and Rabbinic Authority"

2015: Sigrun Haude (University of Cincinnati), "Religion in Conflict: From Martin Luther to the Thirty Years' War (1500-1650)"

2014: Victoria Aarons (Trinity University), "The Shape of Memory: Post-Holocaust Literary Representation"

2013: Wendy Furman-Adams (Whittier College), "Visualizing Paradise: Artists Representing Eden Before and After Milton's Paradise Lost"

2012: Kenneth Seeskin (Northwestern), "Is Judaism Really Monotheistic? A Maimonidean Inquiry"

2011: Mark Noll (Notre Dame), "The King James Bible and the U.S. Populace"

2010: Michael Satlow (Brown University), "Big Givers: The Origins of Jewish Philanthropy"

2009: Marjorie Suchocki (Claremont School of Theology), "The Promise of Incorporating the Art of Film into Theological Reflection"

2008: Michael Berenbaum (American Jewish University), "Jewish Life Under Attack: The Role of the Synagogue in Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1938"