Jewish Cultures of the American South
April 28, 2012
The Uhlman Family Seminar
With support from the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies
Jews have lived in the South since the late 17th century. Two of the earliest and most important Jewish congregations were founded in Savannah in 1735 and Charleston in 1749. Although never representing a large percentage of the overall population in the South, Jews played leading roles in their communities, and were highly visible as merchants and traders. As connected as they were to their surroundings, Jews could not remain untouched by the distinctive southern worlds around them, and the result was a rich and varied southern Jewish community.
This seminar will explore historical “moments” in the southern Jewish experience from the colonial period to the 1950s. Dale Rosengarten will begin our historical journey with a presentation on Jewish life in colonial and antebellum South Carolina. Adam Mendelsohn will explore the changing relationship between Jews and African Americans in the South in the 19th century. Dale Rosengarten continues our “roadtrip through the Jewish South” with a presentation on the Eastern European Jewish community of South Carolina, 1880-1945. Marcie Cohen Ferris ends our historical journey as she explores the early 20th-century camping movement in American Jewish life and the regional expressions of this social and religious phenomenon in the American South.
Come and explore this rich cultural tradition unique to the region.
Topics and Speakers
Port Jews and Plantation Jews: Colonial and Antebellum South Carolina
Dale Rosengarten, Curator of the Jewish Heritage Collection, College of Charleston
Jews and African Americans from Slavery to Reconstruction
Adam Mendelsohn, Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies, College of Charleston
Pledging Allegiance: The Era of Mass Migration and World Wars, 1880-1945
Dale Rosengarten
“God First, You Second, Me Third”: An Exploration of “Quiet Jewishness” at Camp Wah-Kon-Dah
Marcie Cohen Ferris, Associate Professor of American Studies and Coordinator, Southern Studies Curriculum
Changing Jewish Life in the American South
A panel discussion with our speakers
Time and Cost
9:15 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Saturday April 28, 2012. The tuition is $125 ($110 by February 3). Tuition for teachers is $62.50 ($55 by February 3). 10 contact hours for 1 unit of renewal credit. The optional lunch is $15.00.
For information about lodging click here.
Co-Sponsored by the General Alumni Association.
For information about GAA discounts and other scholarships available to Humanities Program participants, click here.