Jeffrey Lesser
Curriculum Vitae
email: jlesser@emory.edu
http://www.emory.edu/HISTORY/faculty/lesser.html
| Positions held | |
| Winship Distinguished Research Professor, Emory University | (2004 - present) |
| Professor of History, Emory University | (2000 - present) |
| Director, Program in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Emory University | (2000 -present) |
| International Election Observer, Venezuela, The Carter Center | (May 2004) |
| Director of Graduate Studies, Department of History, Emory University | (2003 - 2004, 2005-2006) |
| Associate Chair, Department of History, Emory University | (2002- 2003) |
| Fulbright Professor of History, University of São Paulo | (2001- 2002) |
| Professor of History, Connecticut College | (2000) |
| Associate Professor of History, Connecticut College | (1995 - 2000) |
| Visiting Associate Research Professor, Brown University Center for Latin American Studies/Watson Institute for International Studies | (1997 - 2000) |
| Coordinator, Connecticut College History Honors Program | (1995 - 1997) |
| Associate Director for Research Center for International Studies and the Liberal Arts (Connecticut College) | (1995 - 1996) |
| Assistant Professor of History, Connecticut College | (1990 - 1995) |
| Visiting Professor of History, University of Campinas | (1994) |
| Visiting Professor, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Centro Interdisciplinar de Estudos Contemporâneos |
(1994) |
| Assistant Professor of History, Occidental College | (1989 -1990) |
Education |
|
| New York University, Department of History Ph.D. "Pawns of the Powerful: Jewish Immigration to Brazil, 1904-1945." Dr. Warren Dean, advisor. | (1989) |
| Brown University, Program in American Civilization M.A. | (1984) |
| Brown University, Department of Political Science B.A. (awarded honors) | (1982) |
Publications
Books
Negotiating National Identity: Immigrants, Minorities and the Struggle for Ethnicity in Brazil(Durham: Duke University Press, 1999). 2000 Best Book Prize, Latin American Studies Association-Brazil in Comparative Perspective Group.
Portuguese Version: Negociando a Identidade Nacional: Imigrantes, Minorias e a Luta pela Etnicidade no Brasil (São Paulo: Editora UNESP, 2001)Welcoming the Undesirables: Brazil and the Jewish Question (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994). 1995 Best Book Prize, New England Council on Latin American Studies (NECLAS).
Portuguese Version: O Brasil e a Questão Judaica: Imigração, Diplomacia e Preconceito (Rio de Janeiro: Imago Editora, 1995). Hebrew Version: Brazil Ve-Hashela Ha-Yehudit: Hagira, Diplomatia Ve-Deot Kdumot (Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University/University Publishing Projects, 1997).Jewish Colonization in Rio Grande do Sul, 1904-1925 (São Paulo: Centro de Estudos de Demografia Histórica de América Latina, Universidade de São Paulo, 1991).
Edited collections
Editor, Searching for Home Abroad: Japanese – Brazilians and Transnationalism (Durham: Duke University Press, 2003)
Editor, New Approaches to Brazilian Studies. Estudios Interdisciplinarios de America Latina y el Caribe (June, 2001)
Co-Editor, Arab and Jewish Immigrants in Latin America: Images and Realities. (London: Frank Cass, 1998), (with Ignacio Klich)
Co-Editor, Turco Immigrants in Latin America. The Americas 53:1 (July 1996). [with Ignacio Klich]
Co-Editor, Cárdenas, Vargas, Perón and the Jews. Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 20:39-40 (1995) [with Ignacio Klich]
Articles
Book chapters and Essays
La negociación del concepto de nación en un Brasil étnico: los imigrantes sirio-libaneses y Nikkei y la restructucturación de la identidade nacional.” In Ingrid Wehr, ed, Un Continente em Movimiento (Madrid and Frankfurt: Iberoamericana/Vervuert, 2006), 19-36.
From Japanese to Nikkei and Back: Integration Strategies of Japanese Immigrants and their Descendants in Brazil. In Wanni W. Anderson and Robert G. Lee, eds., Displacements and Diasporas: Asians in the Americas (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2005), 112-121.
In Search of Home Abroad: German Jews in Brazil, 1933-1945.” In Krista O’Donnell, Renate Bridenthal, and Nancy Reagin, eds., The Heimat Abroad: The Boundaries of Germanness (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2005), 167-184.
Imagining Otherness: The Jewish Question in Brazil, 1930-1940.” In Kristin Ruggiero, ed., The Jewish Diaspora in Latin America and the Caribbean: Fragments of Memory (Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2005), 34-50. Portuguese version: “Judeus salvam judeus: estereótipos e a questão dos refugiados no Brasil,” in Keila Grinberg, ed., Os judeus no Brasil: Inquisição, imigração, e identidade (Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 2005), 315-324.
Brazil.” In David Singer and Lawrence Grossman, eds, American Jewish Year Book 2004: The Annual Record of Jewish Civilization (New York: American Jewish Committee, 2005), 268-277.
How the Jews Became Japanese and Other Stories of Nation and Ethnicity,” Jewish History18:1 (2004), 7-17. Special issue on "Gender, Ethnicity, and Politics: Latin American Jewry Revisited." Portuguese version: “Como os judeus se tornarem japoneses e outras histrórias sobre nação e etnia.” In Monica Grin and Nelson H. Vieira, eds. Experiência cultural judaica no Brasil / Recepção, inclusão e ambivalência (Rio de Janeiro: Topbooks, 2004).
Da brancura à hifenização: estratégias étnicas de árabes e japoneses no Brasil,” Ethnos Brasil 2:3 (March, 2003), 67-79.
“Brazil.” In David Singer and Lawrence Grossman, eds, American Jewish Year Book 2003: The Annual Record of Jewish Civilization (New York: American Jewish Committee, 2004), 335-343.
Japanese, Brazilians, Nikkei: A Short History of Migration and Identity Building.” In Jeffrey Lesser, ed., Searching for Home Abroad: Japanese – Brazilians and Transnationalism (Duke University Press, 2003), 1-20.
“Visions of the Other: Stereotypes, Survival and the Refugee Question in Brazil.” In Larry V. Thompson, ed., Lessons and Legacies IV: Reflections on Religion, Justice, Sexuality and Genocide (Northwestern University Press, 2003), 250-266.
Repensando a política imigratória brasileira na época Vargas.” in Carlos Eduardo de Abreu and Teresa Malatian, orgs., Políticas Migratórias: Fronteiras dos Directos Humanos no Século XXI (Rio de Janeiro: Renovar, 2003), 277-288.
Jewish Immigration to Brazil.” In Samuel L. Baily and Eduardo José Míguez, eds., Mass Migration to Modern Latin America (Jaguar Books/Scholarly Resources, 2003), 245-262.
In Search of the Hyphen: Nikkei and the Struggle over Brazilian National Identity.” In Lane Ryo Hirabayashi, Akemi Kikumura, and James A. Hirabayashi, eds., New Worlds, New Lives: Globalization and People of Japanese Descent in the Americas and from Latin America in Japan (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2002), 37-58. Portuguese version: “Em busca do hífen: os nikkeis e a luta pela identidade nacional brasileira.” In André Luiz Joanilho and Cláudio deNipoti, eds, Lecturas em História (Curitiba: Aos Quatro Ventos, 2003), 193-221.
Teaching Asian Experiences in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Amerasia Journal 28:2 (2002), 227-234.
Udihara e os projetos de etnicidade nipo-brasileira, 1936 – 2002.” In Massaki Udihara, Um medico brasileiro no front: Diário de Massaki Udihara na II Guerra Mundial (São Paulo: Hacker Editores Narrativa Um; Imprensa Oficial do Estado; Museu Histórico da Imigração Japonesa no Brasil, 2002), 19-32.
“DEOPS e Shindô-Renmei,” Revista Histórica 6 (March 2002), 12-17.
Jewish Brazilians or Brazilian Jews: A Reflection on Brazilian Ethnicity,” Shofar 19:3 (Spring 2001) 65-73.
Shindo Remmei: A história merece mais respeito,” (with Roney Cytrynowicz) Observatório da Imprensa 94 (July, 2000): http://www.observatoriodaimprensa.com.br/artigos/ol18072000.htm#literario01
Immigrant Ethnicity in Brazil.” In Robert M. Levine and John J. Crocitti, The Brazil Reader: History, Culture, Politics (Durham: Duke University Press, 1999), 374-378.
Constructing Latin Levant Ethnicity,” Travessia 39 (July-December, 1999), 57-72.
(Re) Creating Jewish Ethnicities on the Brazilian Frontier.” In Sander L. Gilman and Milton Shain, Jewries at the Frontier: Accommodation, Identity, Conflict (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1999), 209-223.
Negotiating National Identity.” In Citizenship and Identity: International Perspectives, Occasional Paper #8, Contemporary Issue Series, The Clarke Center at Dickinson College (1999), 24-31.
"'Jews are Turks who Sell on Credit': Elite Images of Arabs and Jews in Brazil." In Jeffrey Lesser and Ignacio Klich, Arab and Jewish Immigrants in Latin America: Images and Realities (London: Frank Cass,1998), 38-56. Portuguese version: "'O judeu é o turco de prestação': etnicidade, assimilação e imagens das elites sobre árabes e judeus no Brasil." Estudos Afro-Asiáticos 27 (April, 1995) (Rio de Janeiro), 65-85.
"Images and Realities of Arab and Jewish Immigrants in Latin America." In Jeffrey Lesser and Ignacio Klich, Arab and Jewish Immigrants in Latin America: Images and Realities (London: Frank Cass, 1998), v-xiv.
"Latin American Jewish Communities" in Charles Berlin, ed., Latin American Judaica: A Sampling of Harvard Library Resources for the Study of Jewish Life in Latin America (Cambridge: Harvard College Library, 1997).
"Re (Creating) Ethnicity: Middle Eastern Immigration to Brazil." The Americas 53:1 (July 1996), 45-65. 1997 American Historical Association/Conference on Latin American History Tibesar Prize, Honorable Mention.
"Bad Land, Popular Rebellion and Ethnic Survival: Jewish Farmers in Southern Brazil." Immigrants and Minorities 15:1 (March 1996), 1-21.
"From Antisemitism to Philosemitism: The Manipulation of Stereotypes in Brazil, 1935-1945," Patterns of Prejudice 30:4 (1996), 43-55. Spanish version; "Del antisemitismo al filosemitismo: la manipulación de los estereotipos en el Brasil (1935-1945)." In Discriminación y Racismo en América Latina, edited by Ignacio Klich and Mario Rapoport (Buenos Aires: Nuevohacer, 1997) 151-165.
"Colonial Survival and Foreign Relations in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil: The Jewish Colonization Association Colony of Quatro Irmãos, 1904-1925. In The Jewish Diaspora in Latin America, edited by David Sheinin and Lois Baer Barr. New York: Garland Publishing, 1996, 143-160.
"Images of Jews and Refugee Admissions in Brazil, 1939-1942." Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 20:39-40 (1995), 65-90.
"Jewish Refugee Academics and the Brazilian State, 1935-1945." Ibero-Amerikanisches Archiv 1-2:21 (1995) 223-240.
"With Broadax and Firebrand: In Appreciation of Warren Dean." In Warren Dean (1932-1994): An Appreciation (New York: New York University Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies Occasional Papers, no. 48, 1996).
Entries on "Oswaldo Aranha," "Cohen Plan," "Estado Novo," "Integralismo," and "Liberal Alliance." In Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Barbara A. Tenenbaum, ed. New York: Scribner's: Macmillan Library Reference USA, 1996.
"Albert Einstein, refugiados judeus e o Estado Novo." In Einstein e o Brasil, edited by Ildeu de Castro Moreira and Antonio Augusto Passos Videira. Rio de Janeiro: Editora UFRJ, 1996, 251-260."Neither Slave nor Free, Neither Black nor White: The Chinese in Early Nineteenth Century Brazil." Estudios Interdisciplinarios de America Latina y el Caribe 5:2 (July - December, 1995), 23-34.
"A prisão dos nipo-americanos e a Suprema Corte dos EUA," II Guerra Mundial (CD ROM) (São Paulo: Agência Estado e Estado de Minas, 1995).
"Brazil." In Anti-Semitism World Report (volumes for 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997). Antony Lerman, et. al. eds. London: Institute for Jewish Policy Research.
"Asians in South America." Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Vol. 7 South America. Edited by Johannes Wilbert. New York: G.K. Hall/Macmillan, 1995. Pp. 58-61.
"Immigration and Shifting Concepts of National Identity in Brazil during the Vargas-Era." Luso-Brazilian Review 31:2 (Winter 1994), 27-48. Portuguese version: "Imigração e mutações conceituais da identidade nacional no Brasil durante a era Vargas." Revista Brasileira de História14:28 (São Paulo, 1994), 121-150.
"The Immigration and Integration of Polish Jews in Brazil, 1924-1934." The Americas 51:2 (October, 1994), 173-191. Spanish version; "La Inmigracion y la Integracion de Judios Polacos en Brasil, 1920-1935." Estudios Migratorios Latinoamericanos (Buenos Aires) 9:27 (1994), 361-380.
"Vom Antisemitismus zum Philosemitismus: Das wechselnde Bild deutsch-jüdischer Einwanderer in Brasilien 1935-1945." Translated by Patrik von zur Mühlen. In Alternative Lateinamerika: Das deutsche Exil in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus, Karl Kohut and Patrik von zur Mühlen, eds. Frankfurt am Main: Vervuert Verlag, 1994, 89-104.
"Bem-vindo aos Indesejáveis: A Dupla Imagem de Judeus no Brasil Nos Anos 30." Estudos Ibero-AmericanosXIX:1 (July, 1993), 5-11.
"From Peddlers to Proprietors: Lebanese, Syrian and Jewish Immigrants in Brazil." In The Lebanese in the World: A Century of Emigration, Albert Hourani and Nadim Shehadi, eds. London and New York: I.B. Tauris and St. Martins Press, 1992, 393-410.
"Are African-Americans African or American? Brazilian Immigration Policy in the 1920's." Review of Latin American Studies 4:1 (1991), 115-137. Published in Portuguese as "Legislação Imigratória e Dissimulação Racista no Brasil (1920-1934))" in Arché III:8 (1994), 79-98. Published in Japanese as "Afurika-kei Amerikajin-wa Afurika-jin nanoka, Amerika-jin nanka?" in Rekishi Hyoron [Review of Historical Studies] 501:1 (1992), 54-70.
"Challenges to Jewish Life in Latin America." Survey of Jewish Affairs. William Frankel, ed. London: Basil Blackwell, 1991. 232-240.
Various bibliographical entries. In Latin American Jewish Studies: An Annotated Guide to the Literature. Compiled by J. L. Elkin and A.L. Sater. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1991.
"A imigração ao Rio de Janeiro." Introduction to Heranças e lembranças: imigrantes judeus no Rio de Janeiro. Susanne Worcman, ed. Rio de Janeiro: Museu da Imagem e do Som, 1991."Continuity and Change Within an Immigrant Community: The Jews of São Paulo, 1924-1945." Luso-Brazilian Review 25:2 (Winter, 1988), 45-58.
"Diferencias regionales en el desarrollo histórico de las comunidades judeo-brasileñas contemporáneas: San Pablo y Porto Alegre." Estudios Migratorios Latinoamericanos (Buenos Aires) 4:11 (April, 1989), 71-84. An earlier version appeared as "Historische Entwicklung und regionale Unterscheide der zeitgenössischen brasilianisch-jüdinschen Gemeinden: São Paulo und Porto Alegre." Translated by Petra Möbius. In Europäische Juden in Lateinamerika, Achim Schrader and Karl H. Rengstorf, eds. St. Ingbert: Werner J. Röhrig Verlag, 1989. Pp. 361-377.
"Always Outsiders: Asians, Naturalization and the Supreme Court." Amerasia Journal 12:1 (1985-1986), 83-100.
Review Essays
“Coring the Center: Reflections on the Jewish Periphery” Judaism 191:48 (Summer, 1999), 381-384
"Barbosa." American Historical Review 98:4 (October 1993), 1177-1178.
"Watching the Detectives: Four Views of Immigrant Life in Latin America." Latin American Research Review 27:1 (Winter, 1992), 231-244.
"O preconceito desarquivado." Senhor 367 (April 4, 1988), 61-64.
Prizes & Fellowships
Prizes
| International Teaching Award Emory University Institute for International and Comparative Studies | (2005) | |
| Best Book Prize, Latin American Studies Association Brazil in Comparative Perspective Section | (2000) | |
| Tibesar Prize, Honorable Mention, Conference on Latin American History | (1997) | |
| Best Book Prize, New England Council on Latin American Studies (NECLAS) | (1995) | |
| Meredith Prize in the Humanities, Connecticut College | (1993) | |
Professional Fellowships |
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| J. William Fulbright Commission Distinguished Chair in the Humanities Tel Aviv University | (2006-7) | |
| U.S. Department of Education Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Fellowship | (2001-2002) | |
| J. William Fulbright Commission Senior Scholar Award Fulbright Professor of History, University of São Paulo | (2001) | |
| American Philosophical Society Research Grant | (1999-2000) | |
| Japanese-American National Museum (Los Angeles) International Nikkei Research Project | (1999-2000) | |
| Ford Foundation Program in Human Rights and Society (with Koichi Mori, Centro de Estudos Nipo-Brasilieros, São Paulo) | (1998-2000) | |
| U.S. Department of Education Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Fellowship | (1996 - 1997) | |
| North-South Center Grant Program on Migration and Refugee Issues | (1995) | |
| J. William Fulbright Commission Senior Scholar Award American Republics Research Program | (1994) | |
| National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for College Teachers and Independent Scholars | (1993) | |
| American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship for the Recent Recipients of the Ph.D. | (1991) | |
| Connecticut College/Mellon Foundation Initiative on Multiculturalism in the Curriculum Grant | (1991) | |
| Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture Post-Doctoral Fellowship | (1990-91, 1992-93) | |
| Lucius N. Littauer Foundation Research Grant | (1989-90, 1996-97, 2006-2007) | |
Institutional Fellowships | ||
| J. William Fulbright Commission Scholar-In-Residence Grant (Writer of Institutional Grant for Dr. M. Rago, UNICAMP, Brazil) | (1995) | |
Graduate |
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| Social Science Research Council International Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship | (1987-89) | |
| New York University Dean's Dissertation Fellowship | (1988-89) | |
| Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture Doctoral Fellowship | (1988-89) | |
| New York University Developmental Fellowship | (1985-89) | |
| Lucius N. Littauer Foundation Research Grant | (1986-87) | |
| Latin American Studies Association Overseas Travel Grant | (1988) | |
| National Foundation for Jewish Culture Doctoral Fellowship | (1987-88) | |
| Lowenstein-Weiner Fellowship in American Jewish History | (1987-88) | |
| Rev. Samuel A. Baker Fellowship for the Study of Yiddish | (1987) | |
| YIVO Institute for Jewish Research Fellow | (1986-89) | |
| Jewish Communal Fund Doctoral Research Grant | (1986) | |
| Brown University/Dorot Foundation Fellowship | (1984) | |
Distinguinshed and Keynote lectures | ||
| Michigan State University Leslie Rout Memorial Lecture | (2006) | |
| Latin American Studies Association (LASA) International Conference (Puerto Rico) Plenary Workshop Organizer | ||
| “1o Simpósio Internacional de Estudos Brasileiros,” Casa Rui Barbosa (Rio de Janeiro) Keynote Speaker | (2005) | |
| University of Florida, Gainesville Bacardi Endowed Lecture | (2005) | |
| Southern Japan Seminar, Florida International University Keynote Speaker | (2005) | |
| ADLAF (German Association of Latin American Studies) Keynote Speaker | (2003) | |
| International Conference on Asian Diasporas, University of California, Berkeley Plenary Speaker | (2002) | |
| IX Semana Acadêmica da História (Federal University of Santa Maria) Keynote Speaker | (2002) | |
| International Colloquium on Brazilian Studies, Tel Aviv University Keynote Speaker | (2001) | |
Elected
Vice-President (President Elect), Conference on Latin American History (2005-2009)
Executive Committee Member (elected), Brazilian Studies Association (2002-2004)
Executive Committee Member (elected), Conference on Latin American History (2002-2004)
Chair, Brazilian Studies Committee (elected), Conference on Latin American History (1998-2000)
Secretary (elected), Latin American Jewish Studies Association (1996-2000)
Appointed
Nominations Committee, Latin American Studies Association (2005)
Member, Brazil in Comparative Perspective Section Best Book Prize Committee, Latin American Studies Association (2003)
Member, Warren Dean Memorial Prize Committee, Conference on Latin American History (2003)
Chair, Warren Dean Memorial Prize Committee, Conference on Latin American History (1999)
Chair, Best Book Prize Committee, New England Council of Latin American Studies (1996) Teaching Committee, Conference on Latin American History (1997-1999)
Robertson Prize Committee, Conference on Latin American History (1995)
Editorial Boards
Revista Brasileira de Politica Internacional (appointed 2005)
Estudios Interdisciplinarios de America Latina e el Caribe (appointed 1999)
Estudos Ibero-Americanos (appointed 1998)
Pan-Japan: The International Journal of the Japanese Diaspora (appointed 2001)
Revista Humanas (appointed 2003)
Histórica: Revista da Associação dos Pós-Graduandos em História – PUCRS (appointed 1998)
January, 2006