Laura Leibman   |   Associate Professor of English and Humanities, Reed College

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• Gilbert Stuart, "Mrs. Aaron Lopez and Her Son Joshua," (1772/73) Detroit Institute of Art

CURRENT RESEARCH

Converso: The Religious Life of the Sephardim of Colonial Newport
My new research project focuses on the Sephardic community living in Newport, Rhode Island during the eighteenth century. The goal of my project is two-fold: (1) to provide the first in-depth analysis of the variety of religious literature used and written by Jews in colonial America and (2) to place this literature in the context of the larger changes occurring in Sephardic religion during this epoch. Through this case study, I hope to expose the ways in which the Newport community challenges our understanding of both the history of American Judaism and eighteenth-century religious life in New England.

 

I have presented (or will be presenting) papers related to this project at the following conferences:

• Society of Early Americanists and Omohundro Institute Conference (June 2007). The paper is entitled "From the Holy Land to New England Canaan: Rabbi Karigal and Sephardic Itinerant Preaching in the 18th Century."
• American Studies Association Conference (October 2007). The paper is entitled “Grave Matters: Converso Funerary Art and Identity in Colonial America."
  • Handout.
  • Powerpoint.
• Association for Jewish Studies, 39th Annual Conference (December 2007). The paper is entitled “Sephardic Sacred Space in Colonial America.”
• Association of Caribbean Historians (May 2008). Conference Bulletin. The paper is entitled "Family Purity: The Jewish Ritual Bath in Colonial America and the Caribbean."

Funding for this project has been provided by

• NEH Summer Stipends
• Ruby/Lankford Grants