Jews and the American South: Race, Religion, Region

FAIN: FEL-273177-21

Shari Rabin
Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH 44074-1057)

Research and writing leading to publication of a book narrating the history of Jewish people in the South, from 1669 to the present day.

This project is the first academic survey of southern Jewish history. Jews have had a presence in what came to be known as the South since the late seventeenth century, and while scholarship on this history has grown tremendously in the last fifty years, it has not made an impact on broader conversations about the American South. Because Jews were distinctive not only in belief and practice, but in kinship ties and occupational patterns, they complicated southern racial and religious norms. When viewed through the lens of its Jewish residents, the South emerges as a place not only of rural spaces, rigid racial divisions, and Christian uniformity, but of urban settings, shifting dynamics of inclusion and exclusion, and diverse people groups laying claim to southern belonging. In focusing on a seemingly marginal group in a seemingly peripheral place, this book will tell a bigger story about American history.

Associated Products

Refugees and New Immigrants (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Refugees and New Immigrants
Author: Shari Rabin
Abstract: This was a short presentation as part of a roundtable on refugees and new immigrants, focused on the religious imaginations and lives of two different southern Jewish immigrants.
Date: 06/03/2022
Primary URL: https://raac.iupui.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/7th_Biennial_Conference_on_ReligionAmerican_Culture_Proceedings2022.pdf
Primary URL Description: The conference proceedings include my full remarks

Finding Judaism in the Holy City (Exhibition)
Title: Finding Judaism in the Holy City
Curator: Shari Rabin
Abstract: The small southern city of Charleston, South Carolina may not be the place that comes to mind when thinking of American cities with a notable Jewish history. However, Jews have chosen Charleston as a place to make their home since the 1690s. Charleston is home to one of the oldest Jewish congregations in the United States and, into the early 1800’s, was home to the largest Jewish community in the United States. This exhibit captures the history of Judaism from early American through World War I, a particularly vibrant and tumultuous era of Charleston’s history. By exploring the experiences of Jewish communities in their synagogues, their homes, and the public square, it offers a more complete view of the historical religious landscape in Charleston.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: http://ldhi.library.cofc.edu/exhibits/show/finding-judaism

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