Devin E. Naar, Isaac Alhadeff Professor of Sephardic Studies and Chair of the Sephardic Studies Program at the University of Washington, Seattle, will present "From the Mediterranean to St. Louis and Beyond: Sephardic Jews, Migration, and Race in the United States."

Sephardic Jews from the Muslim world of the Ottoman Empire who came to the United States during the early twentieth century stood apart from the vast majority of American Jews, not only due to their relatively small numbers, but also because of how immigration authorities and established Ashkenazi Jewish institutions (mis)classified and racialized the newcomers due to their distinctive places of origin, languages, cultures, customs and appearance. This lecture tells the little known story of Ottoman Jews in the United States, including their efforts to navigate an American immigration system profoundly shaped by racial hierarchies, antisemitism, and Islamophobia; their attempts to evade deportation; and their initial forays into establishing new communities, institutions and cultural initiatives across the country--including in St. Louis.

Register to attend

Devin E. Naar, Isaac Alhadeff Professor of Sephardic Studies and Chair of the Sephardic Studies Program at the University of Washington, Seattle, will present "From the Mediterranean to St. Louis and Beyond: Sephardic Jews, Migration, and Race in the United States."

Sephardic Jews from the Muslim world of the Ottoman Empire who came to the United States during the early twentieth century stood apart from the vast majority of American Jews, not only due to their relatively small numbers, but also because of how immigration authorities and established Ashkenazi Jewish institutions (mis)classified and racialized the newcomers due to their distinctive places of origin, languages, cultures, customs and appearance. This lecture tells the little known story of Ottoman Jews in the United States, including their efforts to navigate an American immigration system profoundly shaped by racial hierarchies, antisemitism, and Islamophobia; their attempts to evade deportation; and their initial forays into establishing new communities, institutions and cultural initiatives across the country--including in St. Louis.

Register to attend