Jews, Orientalism, and Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century Seminar

Jews, Orientalism, and Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century

What happens when we make space for Jews in the history of 19th century Orientalism? For the French, coming to terms with the aftermath of the Revolution, the Orient – comprising North Africa and the Middle East - was a place where they could project hopes and ideals, or explore great disappointment. Jews, long-established in the Orient, were central to the ways the French understood and depicted these regions. In this talk, developing themes raised in my recent book Orientalizing the Jew, I will consider how the history of French encounters with Jews in North Africa and the Middle East changes the way we understand Orientalism.

Julie Kalman is Associate Professor of history at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. She has published widely on the history of Jews in France, including, most recently, in The Journal of Contemporary History, French History, and The Journal of Modern History. She is the author of Orientalizing the Jew: Religion, Culture and Imperialism in Nineteenth-Century France (2017), and Rethinking Antisemitism in Nineteenth-Century France (2010). She is currently writing a history of competitive Franco-British imperialism in the Mediterranean, through the prism of an Algerian-Jewish trading house.