DCCC Lectures to Focus on Arab American Cultural Institutions, American Jewish Women’s Legacy as Changemakers
(Delaware and Chester Counties, PA - Monday, April 1, 2024)—This April and May, Delaware County Community College’s Center for Equity and Social Justice is offering two free online lectures in its Dialogues for Diversity Series of discussions.
On April 16 at 11 a.m.,“Trajectories of Arab Cultural Institutions in America” will illuminate the significant historical and contemporary Arab institutions in the United States and their enduring legacies to their communities. From the 1920s Pen League (al-rabita al-qalamiya) in New York City to the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Mich., Arab communities have built significant cultural institutions to celebrate and support their artistic endeavors. Presenter Alexa Firat, Ph.D., will journey through these historical and contemporary institutions with an eye to shedding light on their enduring legacies and significance to their communities.
Dr. Firat is associate professor, instructional, Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Studies at Temple University, where she teaches Arabic, modern Arabic literature, Arab cinema and culture and more. She is the co-editor of Generations of Dissent: Intellectuals, Cultural Production, and the State in the Middle East and North Africa (Syracuse University Press, 2020). “Trajectories of Arab Cultural Institutions in America” is free and open to the public. Register here for the event or at dccc.edu/cesj.
On May 2 at 11 a.m., “American Jewish Women’s Long Legacy as Changemakers” will focus on American Jewish women’s involvement in the first wave of feminism (suffrage, birth control, and peace) and the antisemitism they often encountered in social movements. The talk will be presented by Melissa R. Klapper, Ph.D., professor of History and coordinator of the Women & Gender Studies program at Rowan University. She is the author of Ballots, Babies, and Banners of Peace: American Jewish Women's Activism, 1890-1940 (NYU Press, 2013), which won the National Jewish Book Award in Women’s Studies, as well as Jewish Girls Coming of Age in America, 1860-1920 (NYU Press, 2005); Small Strangers: The Experiences of Immigrant Children in the United States, 1880-1925 (Ivan R. Dee, 2007); and Ballet Class: An American History (Oxford University Press, 2020.) The lecture is free and open to the public. Register here or at dccc.edu/cesj.
Since 2020, DCCC’s Center for Equity and Social Justice has hosted an ongoing series of “Dialogues for Diversity” discussions and events with rotating topics and formats. The Center provides opportunities for meaningful dialogue that creates awareness, promotes education and leads to transformative change, equity and social justice for all people.
