The eleventh annual Weekend in Quest, a Shabbaton (study weekend), will be held on the in Astoria, Oregon.The 2017 scholar-in-residence will be Professor Roger Porter, Emeritus Professor of English and Humanities at Reed College, where he has taught for over 50 years.
Professor Porter’s Program will focus on Anti-Semitism in significant works of literature to raise an important, complex, and sometimes baffling question: Should we regard them as anti-Semitic, philo-Semitic, or neither? We will look at Shakespeare’s always controversial play The Merchant of Venice, and several works of that great and no-less controversial writer, Philip Roth. For much of the weekend we will talk about several of his novels and what makes them so important to Jewish life.
Also included in the Shabbaton will be Shabbat services plus catered kosher-style meals including a festive Erev Shabbat dinner, kiddush lunch and Saturday evening dinner. Round-table discussions, social time and entertainment will also be woven into the experience.