In their introduction to a new special issue of Jewish Social Studies, Professors Campos and Sternfeld, along with their colleague Orit Bashkin (Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of Chicago) describe a remarkable wave of new popular culture and public history production about Jews from the Middle East and North Africa – a history, they explain, that has long been erased. In this landmark volume, Campos, Sternfeld and an international group of leading scholars chart a way forward for this crucial field of research. Drawing on examples from Tunisia and Lebanon, Morocco and Egypt, the contributors to this remarkable collection trace not only a desire among communities in the region to learn about their Jewish pasts (in hopes of understanding national larger stories), but also an interest among global Jewish communities in learning more about marginalized histories and identities.
You can read more about this incredible new research on the journal’s website. The issue is also the latest product of a collaboration funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy Demands Wisdom Collaborative Research Program. The umbrella project, led by Profs. Campos and Sternfeld, is entitled “Reimagining Jewish Life in the Modern Middle East, 1800–Present: Culture, Society, and History.” Keep an eye out for more exciting updates from this work soon!
