Second NGG conference “Archives, Heritage and Memory”

The conference room of the Hartley Library at the University of Southampton brimmed on May 19th, 2025, with excitement for Jewish historical scholarship. After much preparation, the writing and publication of a Call for Papers and lots of logistical organisation, the New Generation Group of the Jewish Historical Society of England convened its second conference for emerging scholars at the Parkes Institute of the University of Southampton. The first one, held the previous year at Queen Mary University of London under the auspices of Prof Miri Rubin, former president of the JHSE, proved to be a great success, encouraging the NGG to organise a follow-up conference. Themed Archives, Heritage and Memory, the second conference explored emerging research in the field of Jewish Studies and Jewish History, with nine speakers presenting about their research.

Papers ranged from Jewish Medieval England to contemporary Germany and Austria, were situated in the Kingdom of Poland and its Jewish communities as well as in the little town of Thaxted, Essex, and the Northern city of Gateshead in the early 20th century. Jews in sports were discussed as lively as contemporary Jewish museums, while presentations on the artist Gerda Cohen and Jewish scribal tradition contributed to lively conversations about Jewish visual and scribal art.

The conference was kicked off by an introductory talk by Prof Gavin Schaffer, the new president of the JHSE, who delved into the history of the JHSE and the NGG. Gavin Schaffer encouraged emerging scholars in the field of Jewish Studies and History to get involved in NGG and JHSE activities as well as the JHSE journal Jewish Historical Studies.

Prof Claire Le Foll chaired the first panel, in which Natasha Jenman and Verity Steele presented their respective research projects on the theme of archives. Natasha Jenman spoke about digitally interpreting records about Jews in medieval English archives, using network analyses to deconstruct the interactions between Jews and the crown. Verity Steele shared her reflections on her extensive research about the religious Zionist Bachad Farm Institute in Thaxsted, which prepared young Jews for a life in the Land of Israel in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

Dr Noemi Duhaut opened the second panel of our NGG conference, which explored the notion of memory in Jewish sports history, the history of the Bradford Jewish community and Jewish scribal manuals. Lisa Jenkel presented research on Jewish athletes in the English press in the first half of the 20th century. Sophia Lambert discussed her historical and hands-on research on the history of the cemetery of the Bradford Reform Congregation. Katharina Wendl analysed the complex textuality of a 19th-century Jewish scribal manual, exploring its historical and literary context.

Maddie Walch presented research conducted through her Outreach Fellowship at the Parkes Institute surrounding the artist Gerda Cohen, discussing the role of memory and trauma in Cohen’s poetry and artwork. She gave us sneak peeks into the upcoming exhibition about Gerda Cohen at the University of Southampton. This session was chaired by Cécile Guigui, NGG co-chair.

Tony Kushner, James Parkes Professor of History at the University of Southampton, gave this year's keynote address. He shared insights about his historical quest for Jewish murderers in British archives, which is also the topic of his newest book, The Jewish Pedlar, published by Manchester University Press.

Before moving on to the final panel of the day, staff of the Parkes Institute and the Hartley Special Collections gave us a hands-on tour of its Jewish holdings and its conservation department. We had the unique opportunity to look at documents by Rabbi Solomon Schonfeld from the 1940s and 1950s, currently being restored and catalogued. Librarians also showed us books owned by James Parkes, an Anglican clergyman who was foundational in Christian-Jewish dialogue and whose name the Parkes Institute carries.

The final panel of the conference explored Jewish Heritage and was chaired by Prof Neil Gregor. Lorraine Rumson presented her comparative study of contemporary Jewish museums in the German-speaking region. Victoria Gerasimova shared insights into her research project, which seeks to write Jewish history and heritage into seminal Polish scholarly geographic and bibliographic encyclopedias from the late 19th and late 20th centuries, respectively, using tools developed in the field of Digital Humanities. Finally, Sophie Bellamy delved into the potential of Digital Humanities tools to contribute to a more diverse and nuanced understanding of Jewish communities of the British North East in the 1930s and 1940s.

Thanks to the generosity, support and warm welcome received at the Parkes Institute, participants of the conference not only got the chance to learn from each other but also about the history of the Parkes Institute and its archival holdings. We are particularly grateful for keynote speaker Prof Tony Kushner and JHSE president Prof Gavin Schaffer, who shared valuable advice and feedback and encouraged emerging scholars to get involved in the JHSE. Thanks also shall go to Cécile Guigui, co-chair of the NGG, and Lisa Jenkel, one of the founding members of the NGG, for organising the conference.

We are looking forward to building our connections with the Parkes Institute, the JHSE and the wider network of emerging Jewish Studies scholars which we have been engaging since 2020. Please stay tuned for our academic programming of the coming year and our next conference for graduate and post-doctoral researchers. We would be delighted to have you with us.