ABOUT THE CENTER
The College of Charleston’s Center for Southern Jewish Culture seeks to broaden public knowledge and inspire conversations about the southern Jewish experience.
Generously funded by the Pearlstine/Lipov family in 2014, it brings together the resources of the College’s Jewish Studies Program, Addlestone Library’s Jewish Heritage Collection, and The Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina.
The College of Charleston’s Center for Southern Jewish Culture hosts a wide array of speakers, films, and other events.
Our Charleston Research Fellowship Program supports works of scholarship, public history, and artistic production.
We partner with other organizations to help the public discover the rich history and culture of the Jewish South.
UPCOMING EVENTS
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.
NEWS AND NOTES
Center Talk, Spring 2019
I spent this semester working with my students in “Southern Jewish History” to curate an exhibition of southern Jewish family photographs.
Center Talk, Fall 2018
In January, we hosted journalist Sue Eisenfeld, who gave a Sunday talk on her current project, “A Yankee’s Journey Through the Jewish South.”
Center Talk, Spring 2018
The Center treated Charleston to Joselit’s eloquent meditation on the Ten Commandments in the American South.
Center Talk, Fall 2017
Kinky Friedman, Texas singer & politician, gave a free performance & participated in an on-stage conversation about his life & career as a Jewish southerner.