Sephardic Journeys: Literature, Memory, and Jewish Culture (Posen Library)

High School (Grades 9-12)

College / Adult

A four class module by Karen Skinazi of Hebrew Union College exploring Sephardic and Mizrahi women writers, Mizrahi identity, memoirs of the Middle East and North Africa, and food stories.

Overview

How have Sephardic and Mizrahi writers, artists, and cooks remembered the worlds they came from? In this four class module from the Posen Library, Professor Karen E. H. Skinazi of Hebrew Union College moves from nineteenth century women writers such as Emma Lazarus and Grace Aguilar, to debates over Mizrahi identity in Israel, to English language memoirs of Egypt and Iraq such as André Aciman’s Out of Egypt and Carol Isaacs’s graphic memoir The Wolf of Baghdad, and finally to the food stories of Sephardic women from Judith Montefiore to Claudia Roden.

Questions Students Explore

  1. How have Sephardic women used writing to fight for equality and preserve memory?
  2. How have Mizrahi artists and writers expressed identity after leaving the Middle East and North Africa?
  3. How do food and stories carry the memory of lost homes?

What Students Do

  • Read a short essay and primary sources for each class.
  • Discuss the questions provided for each class.
  • Optionally cook a recipe from the readings or visit a Sephardic or Mizrahi restaurant.

At a Glance

Level: College and adult learners; Classes 1, 3, and 4 adapt well for high school
Time: Four classes
Source: Karen E. H. Skinazi, Hebrew Union College, for the Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization

About this resource

This module was created for the Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization. It is not a JIMENA lesson. JIMENA note: Class 2 focuses on critical perspectives on the Mizrahi experience in Israel. To give students a fuller picture, pair it with first person testimonies from JIMENA’s Oral History collection and with the history of why Jews left Arab countries and Iran.

View the module on the Posen Library  Opens on posenlibrary.com

Procedures

Before You Teach

  • Create a free account on the Posen Library to open the restricted readings.
  • For high school, Class 1 (Emma Lazarus and Grace Aguilar), Class 3 (The Wolf of Baghdad), and Class 4 (food stories) adapt well.
  • For Class 2, add first person voices from JIMENA’s Oral History collection and the history in JIMENA’s Forgotten Refugees lesson.
Body of Lesson

The Four Classes

  1. Sephardic Women and the Nineteenth Century Struggle for Equality
  2. Becoming “Mizrahi”: Cultural Expression and Identity through Art and Story
  3. Odes to Old Worlds: Sephardic and MENA Literature in English
  4. Sephardic Women’s Food Stories: Bridging Past and Present through Taste
Conclusion

Reflection

Students interview a family member about a dish or story from the past and write a short piece in the style of one of the readings.

Extension Activities
Resources and External Links