Join Hilary for a deep dive into the rich Sephardi culture of Iberia and the Ottoman Empire, with sessions on Ladino, Portugal, Salonika and life cycle customs.
2 November: An overview of the culture and history of the Jews of Spain. Jews have lived in Spain under Roman, Visigoth, Muslim and Christian rule. It was in Muslim Spain, in particular, that Jewish culture flourished. The Islamic influence on Sephardi material, visual, literary and culinary culture is still evident today. After the traumatic Expulsion from Spain in 1492 and the beginning of crypto-Jewish life in Iberia a new Sephardi diaspora was created with Spanish Jews returning to live in Muslim lands in the Ottoman Empire and Morocco and creating new communities. Various aspects of Sephardi culture and life will be discussed.
16 November: The Jews of Portugal. Learn about their history and the secret communities established after the establishment of the Portuguese Inquisition.
23 November: Ladino. ‘When will a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law get on? The day that donkeys climb up ladders’. This is one of the many proverbs in Ladino, the language spoken by Spanish Jews after the 1492 Expulsion from Spain. Find out more about this endangered language and its characteristics.
30 November: Salonica, ‘the Jerusalem of the Balkans’. At one time more than half the population of Salonica was Jewish, the port shut down on Saturdays and Ladino was heard everywhere. This once flourishing community was almost completely wiped out in the Holocaust.
7 December: The Sephardi Life Cycle. Learn about the distinctive and colourful birth and marriage customs costumes, of the Jews living in the Ottoman Empire and Morocco.
Dr. Pomeroy was awarded her PhD in the Department of Hispanic Studies, Queen Mary, University of London and taught the history and culture of Sephardi Jews in the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies, University College London. She chaired the foremost international conference on Judeo-Spanish Studies for twenty-five years, the last three conferences in collaboration with Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and the Consejo Científico de Investigaciones Superiores, Madrid. She has published numerous articles and a book on the Moroccan ballad tradition.
NB: This series will take place both in the building and online. To watch online, click the "Book Now" button on this page. To attend in person, click the button below.
