“How do Latinx Jews in the U.S. identify? Can they choose their identity or is it assigned to them? Are their ethnic choices ever strategic or instrumental?”
These questions — and others — will be posed by sociologist Laura Limonic when she delivers the 2024 Tenenbaum Family Lecture in Judaic Studies on Wednesday, March 6, at 7 p.m. She will address “Latinx Jews in Their Adopted Homeland: Constructing New Realities and Claiming New Identities.”
Drawing on the experiences of Latinx Jewish immigrants in the United States, the historical roots of Jewish migration streams to Latin America and a sociological comparative perspective, Limonic will discuss how group construction is never static, and, in particular, how race, religion and class are increasingly important mediating factors in defining ethnicity and ethnic identity.
Limonic is an associate professor and chair of the Sociology Department at SUNY-Old Westbury in Long Island, New York. Her book, “Kugel and Frijoles: Latino Jews in the United States” (Wayne State University Press, 2019) explores issues of ethnicity, race, class and religious community building among Latino Jewish immigrants in Boston, New York, Miami and Southern California.
The lecture, sponsored by the Tam Institute for Jewish Studies, will be held in Convocation Hall on Emory’s Atlanta campus. The event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is requested.
This year marks the 27th Tenenbaum Family Lecture in Judaic Studies, which salutes the family of the late Meyer W. Tenenbaum of Savannah, Georgia. Tenenbaum, a native of Poland, knew no English when he arrived in the United States at the age of 13; he graduated from the Emory School of Law 11 years later. He went on to head Chatham Steel Corporation, now a major steel service center with headquarters in Savannah.
The lectureship was established in 1997 by Meyer’s son, Samuel Tenenbaum, and honors the entire Tenenbaum family and its ethos of citizenship and public service, which is expressed through its support of religious, educational, social service and arts institutions across the United States.
For more information, visit the Tam Institute for Jewish Studies website.
27th Tenenbaum Family Lecture in Jewish StudiesLaura Limonic speaks on “Latinx Jews in Their Adopted Homeland: Constructing New Realities and Claiming New Identities” Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at 7 p.m. Emory University, Convocation Hall |
The lecture is co-sponsored by Emory University’s Center for Ethics; the departments of Religion, Sociology, and Spanish and Portuguese; Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry; Hightower Fund; Institute for Liberal Arts; Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program; Latinx Studies Initiative; Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; and Office of Spiritual and Religious Life.