Jews in the Americas is a hybrid, interdisciplinary conference that will bring together scholars from a variety of fields, including history, religion, sociology, politics, anthropology, literature, and the arts, to explore the rich and diverse experiences of Jews in Latin American and North America. This conference is organized by the Jewish Studies Program and Center of Global and International Studies at the University of Kansas.

The event will be hybrid, with most sessions online, however we welcome participants to attend in person at the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence. Interpretation in English will be provided for presentations in Spanish and Portuguese. 

The 14 online panels of original research will include topics such as Yiddish in South America, Israel-related connections, Jewish art, culture, and identity, Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, Speculative fiction, Jewish women, Antisemitism, and Jewish education and pedagogy.

Hybrid: In-person & Online
In-person: Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center, 1299 Oread Ave (next to the Kansas Memorial Union)
Online: Please register here: https://kansas.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_lA0BaEF_RDOLVA6yT7x2aA#/registration

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Additional activities to highlight Jewish art, music, and history:

Art, Music, & Reception at the Spencer Museum of Art
Thursday, April 18, 5:30-7:30 pm
Spencer Museum of Art

Please join us at the Spencer Museum of Art! Welcome remarks will be given by the College Executive Dean, Prof. Arash Mafi, followed by a guided tour of Jewish art and artifacts by exhibit curator, Celka Straughn. Finally, musical guests, The Bigs, a local band of four college students, will perform the music of Jewish American songwriters. To attend, RSVP no later than April 10th.  

Homemaking: Building the Jewish Community of Kansas
April 15-19
KU Hillel
View this pop-up exhibit, curated by KU Museum Studies graduate student, Dominique Stringer. This exhibit explores the community-building efforts of Jewish Kansans from the early 1900s to the present day. Focusing on the often unseen and underappreciated work of Jewish women, these documents and objects showcase the continual processes of support needed to create welcoming communities in the isolated setting of the Midwest. This poignant exhibit tells the story of how immigrants were received, how communities were built, and the mutual support networks providing shelter, food, and industry to new Americans.  

With thanks
This event was made possible thanks to the support of our sponsors and partners at the University of Kansas and the local and regional community of Northeast Kansas: KU International Affairs, the KU Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies, the Spencer Museum of Art, the University of Kansas Libraries, the University of Kansas Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging, the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Research Initiative, the Religious Studies Department, the Spanish & Portuguese Department, the KU History Department, the KU Jewish Faculty & Staff Council, the Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center, KU Hillel, Dr. David Katzman and Sharyn Brooks Katzman, the Lawrence Jewish Community Congregation, and the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education. 

To learn more about the conference please visit: https://kujewishstudies.ku.edu/jewsamericas