LINES IN THE SAND: DIVERSITY OF THE JEWISH EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE  Please join the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at UNC Charlotte for a salon-style series exploring some of the major themes of Jewish history in Europe (and its empires) from the early Middle Ages through the Dreyfus affair.      Five lectures by noted scholars in the UNC Charlotte Department of History will focus on the Mediterranean, England, the Spanish and Dutch empires, and France, respectively.  All lectures are from 5:30 - 7:00 pm. Location details provided at time of registration. Please RSVP to info@jewishcharlotte.org or by calling 704.944.6757.

January 30: Dr. John Smail,“Shylock Revisited: The Shifting Realities of Persecution and Intolerance for Jews in England”. Dr. John Smail is Professor of History and Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education.  Dr. Smail's field is British History in the early modern period (1600-1800) with a focus on economic, social, and cultural history.  His books include The Origins of Middle-Class Culture a study of class formation in Halifax Yorkshire, and Merchants, Markets, and Manufacture which explores the history of England's wool textile industry.  He is currently working on commercial credit in the 18th century.  Dr. Smail has taught widely in British and European history in the medieval and early modern period including general survey courses and more specialized offerings on Renaissance and Reformation, Riots in England, and Shakespeare’s England.