Sherman Community Lecture in Jewish Studies 2016

"Jewish-Muslim Relations in the UK: History, Experience, Context"
Dr. Yulia Egorova (Durham University)

Time and date: 7:30pm on Sunday 8 May 2016
Venue: Manchester Jewish Museum

ABSTRACT: The relationship between the Jewish and the Muslim communities of Europe is often constructed by the mass media and the public discourse as polarized due to the conflict in the Middle East. However, it has been argued by historians and anthropologists that in discussing this relationship more attention should be paid to the majority’s attitudes towards Jews and Muslims and to the rise of the extreme right in Europe. Building upon the case study of the UK, this presentation will explore how Jewish-Muslim relations both reflect and are shaped by their local political and social context, and how research into these relations can highlight the common challenges that the two communities have faced in Europe.

BIOGRAPHY: Dr Egorova is Reader in Anthropology, and Director of the Centre for the Study of Jewish Culture, Society and Politics. Her research interests include Anthropology of Jewish communities, the social aspects of science and biotechnology, and the relationship between science and religion. In recent years she completed an AHRC-funded project devoted to the Indian Jewish community of the Bene Ephraim of Andhra Pradesh, and a cluster of studies exploring the socio-cultural implications of population genetics with particular reference to South Asia. At the moment she is developing a new project on Jewish-Muslim relations in the UK. 

Archive: Previous Sherman Lectures