Lecture Series

Dealing with antisemitism in the past and present. Scientific organizations and the state of research in Austria.

This on-site series of talks (online participation is possible), presented by antisemitism experts from different organizations that research antisemitism using a variety of academic approaches, aims to provide a snapshot of historical evolutions, current events, prevalent perceptions and declared (and undeclared) attitudes. In this way, we wish this series to serve as a commentary on the context leading to the current situation and as an assessment of possible developments.

Organised by WU’s SABE (Studying Antisemitism in Business & Economy) and the VWI (Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies) presentations will be in English, followed by discussion (in English and German).

The lectures took place on:

• 7 May: 15:00 – 16:30: Workplace Antisemitism: Restitution of the Past, Engagement with the Present, Yochanan Altman and Johannes Koll (Vienna University of Economics and Business), at campus WU, Teaching Center, TC.4.03

• 14 May: 15:00 – 16:30: Research on Post-1945 and Contemporary Antisemitism at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Gerald Lamprecht (Austrian Academy of Sciences & University of Graz) and Ljiljana Radonić (Institute of Culture Studies, Austrian Academy of Sciences), at campus WU, Teaching Center, TC.0.03

• 21 May: 15:00 – 16:30: Empirical Research of Antisemitic Prejudice: the Quantitative Approach. Methods and Problems, András Kovács (Central European University), at campus WU, Teaching Center, TC.0.04

• 28 May: 15:00 – 16:30: Nazi Crimes and Anti-Semitism in History. The Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies, Jochen Böhler and Éva Kovács (Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies), at VWI, Rabensteig 3, 1010 Wien

• 4 June: 15:00 – 16:30: Actively Archiving Antisemitism: 60 Years of the Documentation Center of Austrian Resistance, Andreas Kranebitter and Bianca Kämpf (Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance), at campus WU, Teaching Center, TC.0.04

The lectures were recorded. 

View lecture recordings

WU matters. WU talks

Last year two events at the WU treated the topic of Antisemitism.

Firstly, the talk and discussion on the topic of Antisemitism in the workplace was held in the context of the WU lecture series WU matters. WU talks. 

• Lecture: Prof. Michael Ignatieff, historian, writer, journalist, and politician, CEU

• Discussion: Prof. Helga Embacher, Associate Professor, University of Salzburg Prof. Michael Ignatieff, historian, writer, journalist, and politician, CEU Dr. Ariel Muzicant, President of the European Jewish Congress and Vice-President of the World Jewish Congress

• Moderated by: Prof. Wolfgang Mayrhofer, Full Professor, WU IVM, WU Vienna

Secondly, the talk and discussion Closed to Exclusion - Open to Inclusion, which was a critical reflection on WU’s handling of the Nazi era.

• Keynote: "Jews in Vienna – Accepted and Rejected: Berta Zuckerkandl’s Salon as a Test Case" Dina Porat, Historian, Yad Vashem

• Discussion: Johannes Koll, Senior Scientist, WU Wolfgang Mayrhofer, Full Professor, WU IVM, WU Vienna Dina Porat, Historian, Yad Vashem

• Presentation: Research findings on the awarding of honorary doctorates to individuals with close ties to the Nazi regime and on displaced members of the University of World Trade Johannes Koll, Senior Scientist, WU

• Reading and Moderation: Eva Reisinger, journalist

EGOS 2022 Colloquium

Participation as organizers and panalists in the EGOS 2022 Colloquium by leading the sub-plenary "The Context of Context: Facing Antisemitism at the Workplace".

Context is a key construct in organisation studies. Current times call us to go beyond the well-scripted, though not always adhered-to, understanding of context and context-driven behaviour. A hallmark of the past two decades has been the advance of populism and autocracy in Europe across the political spectrum, from the extreme right to the far left and a parallel decline in the values of democracy. Applebaum and Snyder among others believe we evidence the twilight of democracy as we knew it. And it is the twilight zone that gives rise to dark ur-myths and tropes, none more poignant than the belief that Jews are the source of all that is wrong in our lives, re. Antisemitism (negative stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination and hostility towards Jews).

Current circumstances and the times we live in require us to take into account the widest and deepest contexts in understanding the day-to-day, and that necessarily applies to organisations too. Social heuristics, “are widely distributed among members of a culture through memetic transmission” culminating in innate intuitive thought and behaviour patterns. Antisemitism is such a heuristic, and while as yet under-researched in an organizational context and not fully appreciated, may have substantial impact on working lives.

By introducing the idea that the widest context has to be taken into account in order to comprehend societal phenomena of relevance to work and organisations, we hope to encourage discussion on the ways to research such deep-rooted dark phenomena. In directing a spotlight on Antisemitism and its relevance to the workplace, we aim to encourage reflection on a topical and painful issue, widespread in universities too, thereby facilitating the sharing of participants’ experiences, feelings and thoughts.

• Organizer/Panelist: Yochanan Altman Professor Vienna University of Economics and Business

• Organizer: Wolfgang Mayrhofer Professor Vienna University of Economics and Business

• Panelist: Mustafa Özbilgin Professor Brunel University

• Panelist: Marcel Stoetzler Senior Lecturer Bangor University