Professor Petrovsky-Shtern will discuss his new book The Golden Age Shtetl. The shtetl was home to two-thirds of East Europe’s Jews in the 18th and 19th centuries, yet it has long been one of the most neglected and misunderstood chapters of the Jewish experience. Challenging popular misconceptions of the shtetl as an isolated, ramshackle Jewish village stricken by poverty and pogroms, Petrovsky-Shtern argues in his latest book that, in its heyday from the 1790s to the 1840s, the shtetl was a thriving Jewish community as vibrant as any in Europe.

Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern is the Crown Family Professor of Jewish Studies and Professor of Jewish History at Northwestern University. He spoke at our 2011 Annual Lecture on Jewish Genealogy on “Drafted into the Tsar s Army: Russian Expectations, Jewish Experiences.” Following his talk, Petrovsky-Shtern will sign copies of books purchased at the event.

Space is limited; advance ticket purchase is recommended.

General admission: $10

Free for JGSGB members and students

Get the flyer.