Dr. Hasia R. Diner

The Bennett Center for Judaic Studies at Fairfield University will host Dr. Hasia R. Diner on Thursday, Feb. 16. Diner is the Paul S. and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History; Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, and director of the Goldstein-Goren Center for American Jewish History at New York University.
Diner gave the Ledger a brief preview of her research on the history of Jewish peddlers.
Q: How did you develop an interest in the subject of Jewish peddlers and their influence on migration?
A: As a scholar of American Jewish history, it was impossible to not see peddlers showing up constantly, all over the country, from the 1820s well into the early 20th century – and yet, no historian before ever bothered to stop and consider what that meant, how their work and lives impacted the development of that history.
Q: Did the vocation lead to mass migration of other groups, as it did in the case of Eastern European Jews?  
A: The only other group for which peddling was a formative experience and one which shaped migration was Arabs. Otherwise, Jews were notable not because they peddled, because others did that as well, but for the reality that peddling shaped their migration. It made their migration possible and it constituted a crucial group experience. I am looking not just at Eastern European Jews but Jews from central Europe and from the Ottoman Empire. How far and wide this experience was. There was no place I went where I did not find it.
Q: Give us a preview of your Feb. 16 presentation.
A: Peddling, a humble yet ubiquitous Jewish occupation, helped foster Jewish migrations. It played a crucial role in shaping Jewish integration in the countries to which Jews migrated, and it impacted them as they adjusted their Jewish lives to accommodate the places to which they migrated and in which they settled.
“Peddlers and Modern Jewish Migration” with Dr. Hasia R. Diner: Thursday, Feb. 16, 7:30 p.m., Fairfield University, Charles F. Dolan School of Business Dining Rm.; Information: (203) 254-4000, ext. 2066 / bennettcenter@fairfield.edu