From the cover of Dr. Sarah Imhoff's new book "Another Zionism: Jessie Sampter, Queerness, and Disability."
Dr. Sarah Imhoff will discuss her new book about the life of Jessie Sampter, a committed Zionist who presented an ideological alternative to Zionism's most popular vision.This in-person event is organized by the UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies and co-sponsored by the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies.
Tuesday, February 7, 20232:00 PM - 3:00 PM (Pacific Time)Royce Hall, Room 30610745 Dickson Ct.Los Angeles, CA 90095
After registering, you will be emailed a meeting link and ID information to join us virtually via Zoom on your computer, tablet or smartphone, or to call into the event on your phone. If you do not receive your email confirmation, check your spam or junk mail folders.
Note: This live event will be recorded and posted online afterward for later viewing on the Y&S Nazarian Center's multimedia page.
Organized by the UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies and co-sponsored by the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, UCLA Disability Studies, and UCLA LGBTQ Studies.
About the Book & Talk
Jessie Sampter (1883-1938) embraced Zionism as an adult and moved to Palestine in 1919. Yet Sampter’s own life and body hardly matched typical Zionist ideals: while Zionism celebrated the strong and healthy body, Sampter spoke of herself as “crippled” from childhood polio and plagued by weakness and sickness her whole life; while Zionism applauded reproductive women’s bodies, Sampter never married or bore children—in fact, she wrote of homoerotic longings and had a same-sex relationship we might consider queer. Though she committed herself to Zionism, she also offered ideological alternatives to its most popular visions.
About the Speaker
Sarah Imhoff is the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Chair in Jewish Studies and Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies and the Borns Jewish Studies Program at Indiana University. She writes about religion and the body with a particular interest in gender, sexuality, disability, and American religion, as well as maintaining a research specialty in religion and law. She is the author of Masculinity and the Making of American Judaism (Indiana University Press, 2017) and The Lives of Jessie Sampter: Queer, Disabled, Zionist (Duke University Press, 2022). She is the founding co-editor of the journal American Religion. She is also working on a co-authored book with Susannah Heschel about women and gender in Jewish Studies (Princeton University Press, 2023).
DISCLAIMER: The views or opinions of our guest speakers and the content of their presentations do not necessarily reflect the views of the UCLA Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies. Hosting speakers does not constitute an endorsement of the speaker's views or opinions.
Sponsor(s): Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies