About the Workshop

KAVOD is a Hebrew word, which, as Kamir noted, has at least four different meanings: honor, dignity, respect, and glory. Each of these terms describes a different concept, which represents a different social phenomenon. However, it seems that the fact that all these concepts share a single Hebrew word, exemplifies that they are interrelated social phenomena. In this workshop, we will try to understand the meaning that the concepts of honor and dignity (together with respect and glory) have in changing societies in various historical periods around the world. This will be done through the study of the social phenomena through which they were revealed.

The workshop will focus on the ways in which honor and dignity are shaped in changing societies – societies that undergo population shifts, governmental changes, ideological swings, and constitutional or legal alterations. Honor and dignity are fundamental multifaceted values, and as such they are expressed via different social institutions – defamation suits, so-called honor killings, blood libels, duels, boycotts and social exclusion, etc. Honor and dignity also shape the social discourse and influence the creation and boundaries of constitutional and legal rights.

Since honor and dignity (as well as respect and glory) are abstract social values, they might be given different meanings in different societies. Therefore the social institutions and the legal rights which are defined by these terms are society-dependent. In rapidly changing societies, the meaning, which will be given to these terms, might undergo rapid changes, which may yield changes in the social phenomena and legal rights associated with them; it might create new social institutions, or lead to the extinction of others; it might also lead to legal and constitutional changes.

Some of the best scholars in the various relevant disciplines will gather in the workshop to discuss honor in changing societies. The workshop is intended to create a unique and fascinating discourse between scholars from various disciplines – legal scholars, historians, philosophers, anthropologists and psychologists – all dealing with different aspects of honor and dignity. Historians will analyze the way the understanding of honor, and the socially acceptable ways to defend it, change through time. Legal scholars will present the ways the legal systems of changing societies defend honor using different tools (constitutional, criminal, and tort law). Philosophers will contribute linguistic insights. Anthropologists and sociologists will analyze the ways in which the concepts of honor and dignity are shaped by societies, and shape them, while literature researchers will discuss the literary representations of honor and dignity. The gathering of scholars who deal with abstract ideas, together with ones who deal with norms and with facts, will enable us to investigate together how the theoretical understanding of honor and dignity reflects the way legal norms reflect reality as well as how reality reflect legal norms.