“Not Everyone is Prepared to Remake Themselves”: What Name Changing Means in the 21st Century

“Not Everyone is Prepared to Remake Themselves”: What Name Changing Means in the 21st Century

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When:
February 22, 2019 @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
2019-02-22T14:00:00-05:00
2019-02-22T15:30:00-05:00
Where:
256 Old Horticulture
Old Horticulture
East Lansing, MI 48824
USA
All Jewish Studies
"Not Everyone is Prepared to Remake Themselves": What Name Changing Means in the 21st Century @ 256 Old Horticulture | East Lansing | Michigan | United States

In New York City in the 20th Century, Jews officially changed their names at a much higher rate than other groups. Antisemitism and Jewish desires for upward mobility combined to help propel this phenomenon. But by the 21st Century, name changing had become a very different phenomenon, one that affected poor people of color disproportionately and — while racism was still a factor — for very different reasons as well. Research will be presented by Dr. Kirsten Fermaglich (Associate Professor, History and Jewish Studies).