event-archived

Saharan Vichy Camps between Memory and Memorialization: A Graphic History

February 2, 2023

Aomar BoumIn the last decade, graphic memoirs and novels have emerged as a significant form of historical (re)writing of past narratives and events. The medium of comics and its use of chronologically ordered panels allows the reader to create meanings through the combination of image and text. Aomar Boum argues for the use of graphic memoirs to re-construct the history of Saharan Vichy camps. He...

The Social Role of the Deli in American Jewish Life

February 9, 2023

Ted MerwinNoted historian, author, and collector Ted Merwin presents an interactive, multimedia lecture on the ever-shifting place of the Jewish delicatessen in American life. In New York, San Francisco, and cities in between, the deli was the lifeblood and linchpin of the Jewish community. The “soul food” and convivial atmosphere it dished up became a quintessential part of American...

The Jew as Other and The Other White Meat: Pigs and Jewish Identity

March 2, 2023

Jordan D. RosenblumJews do not eat pig. This (not always true) observation has been made by both Jews and non-Jews for three thousand years. Over time, the pig becomes a popular metaphor for Jewish/non-Jewish identity. In this talk, we explore this historical development. Starting in the Hebrew Bible, where the pig is tabooed but not necessarily singled out more than other food...

Blood Libel: On the Trail of An Antisemitic Myth (Annual Pell Lecture)

March 15, 2023

On the Trail of An Antisemitic Myth (Annual Pell Lecture)Annual Pell Lecture.

In 2019, the shooter of the Poway synagogue near San Diego cited the story of Simon of Trent, a boy whose death during the Easter/Passover season in 1475 led to one of the most notorious persecutions of Jews in Europe, as one of...

American Shtetl: The Making of Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Village in Upstate New York

March 21, 2024

The Making of Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Village in Upstate New YorkSettled in the mid-1970s by a small contingent of Hasidic families, Kiryas Joel is an American town with few parallels in Jewish history—but many precedents among religious communities in the United States. Professors Nomi M. Stolzenberg (USC,...

Dismantling White Nationalism: An Intersectional Approach – with Eric K. Ward

April 19, 2023

Eric K. WardEric K. Ward, a nationally-recognized expert on the relationship between authoritarian movements, hate violence, and preserving inclusive democracy, is the recipient of the 2021 Civil Courage Prize – the first American in the award’s 21-year history. In his 30+ year civil rights career, Eric has worked with community groups, government and business leaders, human...

The 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: Resistance and Survival in the Holocaust

April 4, 2023
Zachary MazurWith the 80th anniversary of this momentous event upon us in April, Dr. Zachary Mazur will reflect on the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in stark contrast against the stereotype of Jewish passivity during the Holocaust. This presentation will draw upon some never before seen sources and images that were discovered in the process of preparing the POLIN...

How Antisemitism Shapes White Nationalism – Eric K. Ward

April 19, 2023

Eric K. WardEric K. Ward, a nationally-recognized expert on the relationship between authoritarian movements, hate violence, and preserving inclusive democracy, is the recipient of the 2021 Civil Courage Prize—the first American in the award’s 21-year history. In his 30+ year civil rights career, Eric has worked with community groups, government and business...

Symposium: Jews and Other Groups Who Resisted the Nazis: Means, Motivations, and Limitations

April 28, 2023

Means, Motivations, and LimitationsThis day-long symposium will probe what remains an under-examined topic in the history of World War II and the Holocaust: the multivarious paths through which ordinary men and women resisted the Nazis. While scholarship on the choices, backgrounds, and motivations of perpetrators and collaborators has become quite robust,...

Transing the Talmud: Androgynes and Eunuchs in Rabbinic Literature

October 18, 2023

Dr. Max StrassfeldWhat happens if we place eunuchs and androgynes at the center of canonical Jewish sources? What can we learn about gender, Jewish law, and the project of transgender history from late ancient texts about these figures? The rabbis constructed intricate taxonomies of sex/gender; rather than anomalies to be justified or explained away, eunuchs and androgynes profoundly...