This talk will share new research on the migration of Jews from Kaluszyn to Paris, in the early twentieth century and their wartime experiences. A branch of Kimble’s own family made this migration and in-depth research allows her to contextualize stories of community solidarity during the Nazi occupation, and bittersweet memorial during the Liberation and postwar period. Join us for a reflection on being Jewish in Paris between 1920 and 1950.

This hybrid event will take place in the Jewish Studies Center, Arnold Hall (Room 100) and via Zoom. Brunch will be served beginning at 9:00 AM.

In this talk Dr. Samuel Gruber presents an overview of the role of women in Jewish worship space but especially focuses on the types of physical spaces allowed to women in American synagogue architecture from the 18th century until today. Dr. Gruber will present historical material, some of which derives from the William Rosenthal Collection at the College of Charleston, and much of which comes from his own continuing investigation of synagogue buildings throughout the world.

Dr. Max Modiano Daniel, Public Historian and Director of the Jewish Heritage Collection at the College of Charleston will give a talk on his latest research, which explores how North African Jews shaped 19th-century American Jewish history and challenged racial and political norms in the antebellum South. Doors will open for brunch at 9:00 AM. 

Dr. Adam Jortner (Auburn University) will talk about his new book, A Promised Land: Jewish Patriots, the American Revolution, and the Birth of Religious Freedom. This talk dismantles the enduring myth that America was founded primarily as a Christian nation, instead highlighting the diverse religious and cultural forces that shaped its origins. By widening the scope of the American Revolution to include Jewish patriots and other overlooked figures, it uncovers how Judaism played a central role in defining both the new nation and its evolving concept of citizenship. Doors will open for brunch at 9:00 AM.