UNCA to Host Talk on Jewish Life in North Carolina

UNC Asheville’s Center for Jewish Studies will present a talk on "Down Home: Four-Hundred Years of Jewish Life in North Carolina" by Leonard Rogoff at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, in UNCA’s Owen Conference Center. This event is free and open to the public.

Rogoff, research historian for the Jewish Heritage Foundation of North Carolina, has written and lectured extensively on the Jewish South with a focus on North Carolina." His book "Homelands: Southern Jewish Identity in Durham and Chapel Hill, North Carolina was praised by Publisher’s Weekly as "delightful…a thorough, highly readable book
that combines scholarship and storytelling."

His essays have appeared in a number of books, including "American Jewish History." He conceived, researched and wrote text for the exhibit "Migrations: The Jewish Settlers of Eastern North Carolina." He is currently working on an extensive project on the history of the Jewish people in North Carolina and edits "The Rambler," the newsletter of the Southern Jewish Historical Society.

For more information, call UNCA’s Center for Jewish Studies at 828/251-6576.

Media Contacts:

• Tommy Hays, Great Smokies Writing Program Director, 828/254-1389
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526