Events

In the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, the political landscape of the American South transformed drastically. Local offices previously dominated by the slave-owning planter elite now sat a racially, ethnically, and economically diverse pool of politicians. Among this new cohort of officeholders were scores of Jewish immigrants, over fifty of whom served as mayors of southern towns between 1870 and 1900. In an era often defined by political turbulence and race-based electoral violence, these local Jewish politicians became some of the unsung leaders of southern towns.

Mahjong: A Chinese Game and the Making of Modern American Culture illustrates how the spaces between tiles and the moments between games have fostered distinct social cultures in the United States. This mass-produced game crossed the Pacific, creating waves of popularity over the twentieth century. Annelise Heinz narrates the history of this game to show how it has created a variety of meanings, among them American modernity, Chinese American heritage, and Jewish American women's culture.

As it traveled from China to the United States and caught on with Hollywood starlets, high society, middle-class housewives, and immigrants alike, mahjong became a quintessentially American game.

Heinz also reveals the ways in which women leveraged a game to gain access to respectable leisure. The result was the forging of friendships that lasted decades and the creation of organizations that raised funds for the war effort and philanthropy. No other game has signified both belonging and standing apart in American culture.

Join us for a Sunday Brunch conversation about the interconnected history of the Jewish communities in Kałuszyn, Poland and Charleston, South Carolina. Professors Chad Gibbs and Ashley Walters will talk about their ongoing research into the history of Kałuszyn, Jewish chain migration from Kałuszyn to Charleston, and the destruction of Kałuszyn during World War II.

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

Explore South Carolina’s Jewish history through the lens of food and memory. Kugels and Collards is a lively collection of South Carolina Jewish family and community stories and special family recipes. Where people go, so goes their food.

Join us for a conversation with Rachel Gordin Barnett and Lyssa Kligman Harvey about their work on this project. 

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 a.m. The event will begin at 10:00 a.m.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase after the event.

Between the 1880s and 1920s, Yiddish-language newspapers rose from obscurity to become successful institutions integral to American Jewish life. During this period, Yiddish-speaking immigrants came to view newspapers as indispensable parts of their daily lives. For many Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, acclimating to America became inextricably intertwined with becoming a devoted reader of the Yiddish periodical press, as the newspapers and their staffs became a fusion of friends, religious and political authorities, tour guides, matchmakers, and social welfare agencies. 
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 a.m. The program will begin at 10:00 a.m. 
Copies of the book will be available for purchase after the event.

In 1936, the Gibbes Museum held “An Exhibition of Miniatures Owned in South Carolina and Miniatures of South Carolinians Owned Elsewhere.” One of those on exhibit was a two-sided miniature featuring Richard and Charity Lushington which was “Lent by the Misses Oemler, Savannah, GA.” For nearly a century, the Lushingtons remained in Savannah unknown to those who held them, but now they have returned home to Charleston.

Join George H. McDaniel, historian at SC Battleground Preservation Trust, and Ashley Walters, director of the Pearlstein/Lipov Center for the Study of Southern Jewish Culture, as they discuss the significance of Richard Lushington to Charleston’s history, his connection to Jewish history through his unique militia unit, and the world of Revolutionary Charles Town which brought them all together. 

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 a.m.

Join us for a conversation with author Daniel Wolff about his latest book, How to Become an Immigrant, an odyssey from pre-Civil War Charleston to post-World War II Minneapolis through Jewish immigrants’ eyes.

Location: in-person and over Zoom

Doors open for brunch at 9 a.m.

Even as a fourth-generation Jewish Texan, S.L. Wisenberg always felt the ghost of Europe dogging her steps, making her feel uneasy in her body and in the world.

With wit, verve, blood, scars, and a solid dose of self-deprecation, Wisenberg wanders across the expanse of continents and combs through history books and family records in her search for home and meaning. Her travels take her from Selma, Alabama, where her Eastern European Jewish ancestors once settled, to Vienna, where she tours Freud's home and figures out what women really want, and she visits Auschwitz, which—disappointingly— leaves no emotional mark. The Wandering Womb: Essays in Search of Home will arrive in bookstores March 31, 2023. Her book won the  2022 Juniper Prize in nonfiction from University of Massachusetts Press.

Join us for a conversation with S.L. Wisenberg about her new book. 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 a.m.

Dr. Joe Butwin studied English Literature at the University of Minnesota, taught History and Literature at Harvard and recently retired after 50 years of teaching English and Jewish Studies at the University of Washington in Seattle. The return of his mother’s papers to Charleston brings emotional satisfaction and at the same time requires reflection on the relation of privacy (letters, diaries!) and publicity and in this case, given his training, on the relation (once again) of History and Literature. He hopes that his example will encourage others to think through the process with or without a similar bundle of paper waiting in the attic.

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 a.m.

Planning is complete for the 46th annual SJHS conference, which […]

Professor Eli Rosenblatt will talk about the work of Abraham Philip Samson (1872-1958)—the relatively unknown Surinamese Jewish activist, writer, and pharmacist—as a lens on the complex position of Jews in late 19th and early 20th-century Suriname, a Caribbean country on the northeastern coast of South America ruled by the Netherlands until 1975. Since much excellent recent scholarship has focused on Surinamese Jewish culture in the era of slavery, this talk will discuss how Samson, a Surinamese Jewish descendant of both free Jews and enslaved people, inherited and represented the legacies of that era in political, ethical, and theological contexts.

When Thomas Jefferson died in 1826, he left behind a mountain of personal debt, which forced his heirs to sell his beloved Monticello home and all of its possessions. The Levys of Monticello is a documentary film that tells the little-known story of the Levy family, which owned and carefully preserved Monticello for nearly a century – far longer than Jefferson or his descendants. The remarkable story of the Levy family also intersects with the rise of antisemitism that runs throughout the course of American history.

Almost three quarters (72%) of the population in Miami-Dade county is of Latinx/Hispanic origin. Spanish of various accents can be heard in supermarkets, schools and synagogues. Latin American immigrants from Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico down to the Southern Cone have been fleeing social and economic upheaval for decades. Miami, with its close proximity to Latin America, widely spoken Spanish and commercial and job opportunities is an obvious destination for both Jewish and non-Jewish Latin American/Latinx immigrants. Miami has the largest influx of Jewish immigrants from Latin America, immigrants who have entered the community at a pivotal point when existing congregations, schools and Jewish community centers have been losing members. In this talk, Limonic will discuss how Latin American Jews, with their strong commitment to communal ties and institutions, have invigorated existing communities while forging new identities as panethnic Latinx Jews.

Please join Professors Chad Gibbs and Ashley Walters for a discussion on Russia’s war in Ukraine with Dr. Amber Nickell of Fort Hays State University.

CofC professor Ashley Walters will talk about her current book project over brunch. She will tell a story of revolution and romance between two East European-born Jewish sisters named Anna and Rose Strunsky—young and captivating writers dedicated to the socialist revolution—and an impressive cast of well-known American authors, including Jack London, William English Walling, Arthur Bullard, and Sinclair Lewis.

The in-person event will take place in the Jewish Studies Center, Arnold Hall (Room 100) and via Zoom. Registration Link

In the midst of renewed attention to gun violence in America, Rabbi Tamar Manasseh and filmmaker Brad Rothschild discuss their moving documentary “They Ain’t Ready for Me.” This film tells the story of Rabbi Manasseh's fight against senseless killings on the South Side of Chicago. For years,  she has sat on a street corner barbecuing, playing music and bringing games for kids to play with. Manasseh and the organization she founded, Mothers and Men Against Senseless Killings (MASK) are proving that something can be done and that the situation is not hopeless. With just her presence on the block, she is making forgotten members of the neighborhood believe that there are people who care whether they live or die.

Manasseh's unique background and upbringing give her a perspective that few people can claim. Both “authentically Jewish and authentically Black”, she brings an understanding of both communities, even as she struggles for acceptance in the Jewish world. Join us for a conversation with Manasseh and Rothschild about the challenges and motivations of this fearless community leader as she works to prevent more people from being killed by gun violence.

See the trailer here.

Join Dr. Laura Arnold Leibman (Reed College) to discuss her most recent book, "Once We Were Slaves: The Extraordinary Journey of a Multiracial Jewish Family.” Dr. Leibman  follows Blanche Moses, a descendant of one of the most prominent Jewish families since the American Revolution, as she researches her family history. During the course of her investigation, Moses discovers her grandmother and great-uncle were not always the wealthy, free, white Sephardic Jews she believed, but were born as poor Christian slaves in Barbados. "Once We Were Slaves" brings to life the largely forgotten population of mixed African and Jewish ancestry and illuminates the fluidity of race, as well as the role of religion in determining racial identities in early nineteenth-century America.

Join University of California, Davis Professor Bruce D. Haynes for a look into the diverse origins of Jews of African descent in the United States. Dr. Haynes’s most recent book explores the full diversity of Black Jews, including bi-racial Jews of both matrilineal and patrilineal descent; adoptees; black converts to Judaism; and Black Hebrews and Israelites, who trace their Jewish roots to Africa. In doing so, he challenges the dominant western paradigm of Jews as white and of European descent, and offers insights into how Black Jewish individuals strive to assert their dual identities and find acceptance within their respective communities.

Film: Shared Legacies revisits the coalition and friendship between the Jewish and African-American communities during the1960s Civil Rights Movement. Pivotal events come alive through a treasure trove of archival materials narrated by eyewitnesses, activists, and leaders of the movement.

Please join us for a book talk with former state congressman, CNN political analyst, and author Bakari Sellers. Seller’s recent memoir, My Vanishing Country (2020), tells a story of two generations. He traces his father’s rise to become a civil rights hero, as well as his own childhood growing up in Denmark, South Carolina. In his book, he addresses the plight of the South's dwindling rural, black working-class, many of whom can trace their ancestry back seven generations. My Vanishing Country: A Memoir is Seller’s first book and has received critical acclaim. 

Join historian Marni Davis (Georgia State University) and author Harlan Greene (College of Charleston) as they discuss their digital map making projects in Atlanta, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina. These modern digital maps reveal the hidden histories of the cities they chart.

In Wandering Dixie: Dispatches from the Lost Jewish South, Sue Eisenfeld uncovers how the history of Jewish southerners converges with her personal story and the region's conflicted present. Join the author and moderators Dale Rosengarten and Rachel Barnett as they discuss the unexpected ways that race, religion, and hidden histories intertwine.

Registration link here.

Facebook link here.

Award-winning scholar Dr. Shari Rabin, formerly assistant professor in the College of Charleston’s Jewish Studies Program and Director of the Pearlstine/Lipov Center for Southern Jewish Culture, returns for a discussion about southern history with Dr. Adam Domby, Assistant Professor of History, in light of current events.

Registration link here.

Facebook link here.

The Charleston Jewish Filmfest, the Arts Management Program at the College of Charleston, and the Pearlstine/Lipov Center for Southern Jewish Culture present

A FREE film screening and discussion of the acclaimed jazz documentary Body and Soul: An American Bridge, the Black-Jewish History of an American Song

• BODY AND SOUL will be available for screening between Monday, October 12 and Thursday, October 15, 2020.

• DISCUSSION of the film and the history of jazz in Charleston with Dr. Karen Chandler and Charlton Singleton takes place on Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.

Morris B. Abram (1918–2000) emerged from humble origins in a rural South Georgia town to become one of the leading civil rights lawyers in the United States during the 1950s. While unmasking the Ku Klux Klan and serving as a key intermediary for the release of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. from prison on the eve of the 1960 presidential election, Abram carried out a successful fourteen-year battle to end the discriminatory voting system in his home state which had entrenched racial segregation. The result was the historic “one person, one vote” ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1963.

We regret to announce that “Pursuing Justice” has been canceled, along with all other College events in the next few weeks, due to precautions related to the coronavirus. We hope to reschedule at a later date.

The “Unite the Right” rally and hateful attacks that struck Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, served as a wakeup call for many Americans about dangers posed by the rise of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and affiliated hate groups. Former Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer and Amy Spitalnick, Director of Integrity First America, will discuss the aftermath of that attack and suggest strategies for combating violence based on racism, sexism, and antisemitism.

Photo: Owens’ Academy of Music, Charleston, SC.
From “Memories of the Professional and Social Life of John E. Owens,” by his wife.

Professor Nathans’ Sunday brunch talk has been CANCELED due to current travel restrictions related to the coronavirus. The program may be rescheduled at a later date.

Charleston was a hub of theatrical activity from the colonial period until the early 20th century, as well as a significant site for Jewish and African American cultural encounters. Heather S. Nathans, chair of Tufts University’s Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, will explore the ways Jews were depicted on southern stages.

Southern Jewish women often played leading roles in local and state efforts to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment, whose centennial we celebrate in 2020. They were both Southern Ladies and New Women, fitting in to their societies as they challenged the southern conservative consensus. Women's vote impacted their lives not only in civil society but also in the synagogue. 

Our presenter, Leonard Rogoff, holds a doctorate from the University of North Carolina, where he directed the English Writing Laboratory.

While food may seem simple, what people eat is shaped […]

In this groundbreaking history, Pamela Nadell asks what does it […]

Part 3 of a mini-course offering an overview of the history of Jews in the southern United States from colonial times until the present. We will explore some of the key events of southern Jewish history, seeking to understand how Jews have confounded, complicated, and conformed to the region’s “peculiar” norms and categories. Presented by Dr. Shari Rabin, director of the Pearlstine/Lipov Center for Southern Jewish Culture. Free and open to the public.

Part 2 of a mini-course offering an overview of the history of Jews in the southern United States from colonial times until the present.

Part 1 of a mini-course offering an overview of the history of Jews in the southern United States from colonial times until the present.

Monuments, memorials, and historical memory have been much in the news over the last year.

The end of the Civil War initiated a period of dramatic hope, disappointment, and transformation in the American South and the nation as a whole.

Charleston Research Fellow Brian Neumann, currently a PhD candidate in history at the University of Virginia, will present on his research about the Nullification Crisis, in which South Carolina tried to void federal tariffs.

Charleston Research Fellow and journalist Sue Eisenfeld will talk about the process of writing and researching her next book, Postcards From Dixie: A Yankee’s Journey.

Over the last few decades, scholars have worked to expand the study of American religion beyond white Protestants, in the process engaging with questions of race, ethnicity, and migration.

The 2017 conference of the Southern Jewish Historical Society will […]

The fall meeting of the Jewish Historical Society of South […]

Jeffrey Rosen, president of the National Constitution Center and law […]