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SUMMARY:The Protocols of the Elders of Zion: The Facts Surrounding a Ficti
 on - Dr Michael Hagemeister (Ruhr-Universität Bochum)
DTSTART:20141104T170000Z
DTEND:20141104T190000Z
UID:TALK53758@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Vickie Freer
DESCRIPTION:A public talk by Dr Michael Hagemeister. \n\nInvestigations in
 to the origin and early history of the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion
 ” often lead to the border between fiction (or mystification) and histor
 ical fact. Furthermore\, one can observe how this border is crossed: the 
 “Protocols” were compiled from a series of fictional texts and then pr
 esented as the authentic document of an actual conspiracy. However\, the (
 scientific) literature about the “Protocols” also far too frequently i
 gnores this border\, when\, for example\, coherent and therefore convincin
 g stories take precedence over well-researched histories. In this paper I 
 shall present some results of my research on the “Protocols”. A close 
 reading of the early Russian versions shows that the “Protocols” is an
  “open text” of undefined genre which can be (and has been) perceived 
 not only as a document but also as a fictional text\, a negative utopia de
 picting a future global\, totalitarian welfare state. This was overlaid wi
 th an apocalyptical reading of the “Protocols” which was introduced by
  Sergei Nilus\, the most prominent editor and commentator of this text. Th
 e excited response to the “Protocols” since the early 1920s called for
  a prompt investigation into its origin and the channels through which it 
 had been disseminated. Thereupon a detailed and coherent narrative was cre
 ated and later authorized by a legal court. This narrative is\, in itself\
 , a conspiracy story\, a dubious construction based on equally dubious wit
 nesses. Thus the response to the myth of the Jewish conspiracy has been a 
 counter-myth\, which is no less mysterious than the one it aims to oppose.
 \n\nThe talk will be followed by a wine reception. 
LOCATION:CRASSH Alison Richard Building\, 7 West Road\, Cambridge\, CB3 9D
 T
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