Morton Weinfeld, Diasporas and Dual Identities/Loyalties: The Problematic Jewish Case
When and Where
Speakers
Description
Shoshana Shier Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecture Series
Morton Weinfeld (McGill University)
Canadian Jewry: Like Everyone Else... But Different?
Lecture 2: Diasporas and Dual Identities/Loyalties: The Problematic Jewish Case
Jews have long been an iconic diasporic community. Such communities have dual identities, but must often wrestle with more problematic real or perceived dual loyalties. In a multicultural society like Canada, there can be cases where clashes of interest between a diasporic minority and either another minority or Canada can cause tensions. This has been the case for ( Canadian ) Jews in the past and the present, in ases like alleged Nazi wariminals, or current Middle east tensions involving Israel.
Morton Weinfeld is a Professor of Sociology at McGill. He received a BA in Economics from McGill, and Masters in Education and a PHD in Sociology and Education from Harvard, where his dissertation supervisor was Nathan Glazer. He began teaching in the Sociology department at McGill in 1977, and he launched he course “The Sociology of Jews in North America “ in that year, the first such course in Canada. Since that time it has had over 3500 students. For 20 years, and until recently, he held the Chair in Canadian Ethnic Studies. He has published ten books dealing both with modern Jewish life, and general diversity in Canada, in addition to dozens of articles. Apart from his academic work, he has served as an advisor/consultant to Jewish organizations on a variety of communal issues, and to Canadian government agencies with policies in the areas of diversity and multiculturalism. Thirty five years ago he co-authored with Harold Troper the book ‘Old Wounds: Jews, Ukrainians, and the Hunt for Nazi War Criminals in Canada”. In 2018 he published “ Like everyone Else but Different: The paradoxical success of Canadian Jews.” This fall he is teaching an undergraduate seminar on Canadian Jewish life joint with the Centre of Jewish Studies and Sociology at the University of Toronto.