Jews of North America: a Social Sciences Perspective

Session Submission Type: Panel Session

Abstract

This panel session brings together scholars of Jewish studies who mobilize anthropological and sociological methods to study Jewish communities in North America. Interviews and participant-observation offer unique ways to bring to life the perspectives, narratives, and practices of contemporary societies and individuals, providing insights into communities often underrepresented in mainstream media. This panel advocates for the importance of employing an anthropological toolkit to study Jewry in North America, which after all, boasts the largest Jewish population in the world after Israel. By centering participant observation and interviews, the panel seeks to reaffirm the contours of contemporary Jewish landscape in this region, encompassing its diverse spectrum, from secular to ultra-religious, and including Jews of color and non-Ashkenazi Jewry. In so doing, it seeks to offer a counterweight to portrayals offered by the most vocal and visible Jewish institutions in this region.

Sub Unit

• Social Science

Chair

• Yasmine Lucas, Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies at University of Toronto

Individual Presentations

• Women Forging Futures: Sephardi Beyond Ethnic and Geographic Belonging - Elizabeth Narvaez, University of Virginia

• Establishing Emergent Phenomena: harnessing the multi-scalar potential of hybrid socio-anthro methodologies - Isobel-Marie Johnston, 6520 S McAllister Ave

• Being Back or Living Abroad? Contemporary North American Ashkenazi Jews in Europe and Places of Belonging - Joshua Krug

• In City out-of-town: the Jewish Kew Gardens Hills - Gabor Kerekes, Touro University

Zoom Host

• Zoom Host 07