Jewish Consumption and Material Culture in the Early Modern Period

At the 2007 Early Modern Workshop, speakers discussed the representation of Jews and their way of life in art and the use of various types of images and objects by scholars trying to learn about Jewish rituals, customs, and culture: images from Christian sources (Shalom Sabar), beakers (Vivian Mann), cloth and textiles used to make parokhet (Rachel Greenblatt). Can symbols used in synagogues and books tell us much about the values of the Jewish community? What role did ideology play in public representations of the Jewish community (Limor Mintz-Manor)? Scholars discussed the usefulness and pitfalls of using inventory records, focusing on what is behind the significance ascribed by historians to material objects (Flora Cassen, Benjamin Ravid/Bernard Cooperman, Miriam Bodian). Can descriptions of rituals and processions in Christian cities tell us anything about material culture and clothing of the Jews (Nadia Zeldes)? Finally, what about the underclass? What can crime records tell us about the relationship to material possessions of the poorer strata of society (Magda Teter)? Texts can be downloaded above and videos can be accessed by clicking here