Emory Lecture Turns to Ottoman Empire
Sephardic history takes center stage Feb. 12 in a presentation by a Stanford professor.
Sarah Moosazadeh is a staff writer for the Atlanta Jewish Times.
The five-century history of Sephardic Jews in the Ottoman Empire is the topic of the 22nd annual Tenenbaum Family Lecture in Judaic Studies on Monday, Feb. 12.
“So much of what we do is focused on the Ashkenazi world, so we wanted to do something focused on the Sephardic world as well,” said Eric Goldstein, the director of Emory University’s Tam Institute for Jewish Studies. “This is something that faculty and students have expressed interest in, and we thought … it would be of particular interest to a lot of people in Atlanta who have that background.”
Aron Rodrigue, a professor of Jewish culture and history at Stanford University, will deliver the lecture, “The Making and Unmaking of Sephardi Jewry: The Ottoman Centuries.”
Rodrigue specializes in Sephardic culture and history. He will discuss who the Sephardim were, their expulsion from Spain and Portugal, and their new communities in Southeast Europe, Turkey and elsewhere.
He will also discuss the community’s major turning points, culture, language, the development of certain traditions and changes that occurred in the 19th century.
Rodrigue said he wants audience members to gain an appreciation for a subset of the Jewish people that had a significant presence in parts of Europe and the Middle East. “I hope that people have a chance to learn about a culture that has all but disappeared and understand that is an important part of a much larger Jewish world.”
What: 22nd annual Tenenbaum Family Lecture in Judaic Studies
Who: Stanford history professor Aron Rodrigue
Where: Emory’s Carlos Museum, 571 S. Kilgo Circle, Atlanta
When: 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12
Admission: Free; www.js.emory.edu
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