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Papers of Aviva Ben-Ur

 Collection
Identifier: ASF AR-7

Scope and Content Note

This collection contains cassettes of oral histories of New York Sephardim, correspondence between Ben-Ur and various scholars of Sephardic studies, photocopies of historical essays about Sephardic topics, newsletters and other printed materials including maps and poems.

Dates

  • Creation: undated, 1923-2007

Language of Materials

The collection is in English, Spanish, Ladino and Hebrew.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open to researchers.

Use Restrictions

There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact:

American Sephardi Federation, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011

email: ASFinquiries@cjh.org

Biographical Note

Aviva Ben-Ur is an Associate Professor in the Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Adjunct to the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the Department of History. She earned her Ph.D. from Brandeis University in 1998 and her M.A. and M.Phil. degrees from Columbia University in 1992 and 1994, respectively. Her doctoral dissertation was entitled Where Diasporas Met: Sephardic and Ashkenzai Jews in the City of New York-A Study in Intra-Ethnic Relations, 1880-1950. She began teaching as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in Fall 2000. Her published books include Sephardic Jews in the United States: Where Diasporas Met, Remnant Stones: The Jewish Cemeteries of Suriname: Epitaphs and A Ladino Legacy: The Judeo-Spanish Collection of Louis N. Levy. She was awarded a 2007 American Council of Learned Societies fellowship to conduct research for her book Jewish Identity in a Slave Society: Suriname, 1660-1863, which has not yet been published. She translated and analyzed response and Hebrew and Ladino medieval literature for Andree Aelion Brooks’ book, The Woman Who Defied Kings: The Life and Times of Dona Gracia Nasi, a Jewish Woman Leader During the Renaissance. Her articles and reviews have appeared in journals such as Journal of Southern History, American Jewish History, American Jewish Archives, Jewish History, Journal of Jewish Studies, and Studies in Bibliography and Booklore.

In addition to the American Council of Learned Societies fellowship, she has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; the Fulbright Program; the University of Washington, where she was the Hazel D. Cole Fellow in Jewish Studies 1999-2000; and the John Carter Brown Library, among others. She has taught at the National University of Ireland, Galway; the University of Washington; and Queens College.

She has served on the Advisory Boards of Sephardic House, the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Religious Heritage, and on the Academic Councils of both the American Sephardi Federation and the American Jewish Historical Society. She has been a Fellow of the University of Massachusetts Five College Center for Crossroads in the Study of the Americas, a Lilly Teaching Fellow, and the recipient of both a University of Massachusetts Center for Teaching Course Enhancement Grant and Faculty Research Grant.

Extent

.25 Linear Feet

Abstract

This is a compilation of items collected by Aviva Ben-Ur, mainly in photocopy format, including historical essays about Sephardic Jewry and Ladino, newsletters, maps, and poems.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in one series.

Acquisition Information

Papers presented to the American Sephardi Federation by Aviva Ben-Ur in several accretions in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

Related Material

The American Sephardi Federation and the YIVO Library have several books by Aviva Ben-Ur, including The Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Collection of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad: A Descriptive Bibliography, A Ladino Legacy: The Judeo-Spanish Collection of Louis N. Levy, Remnant Stones: The Jewish Cemeteries and Synagogue of Suriname: Epitaphs, Sephardic Jews in America: A Diasporic History, and Where Diasporas Met: Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews in the City of New York: A Study in Intra-Ethnic Relations, 1880-1950. In addition, there are many books covering her areas of interest and research topics, including Ladino, American Jewish history and works by and about Mair Jose Benardete.

Title
Guide to the Papers of Aviva Ben-Ur undated, 1923-2007 ASF AR-7
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Rachel S. Harrison as part of the Leon Levy Archival Processing Initiative, made possible by the Leon Levy Foundation.
Date
©2010
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.

Revision Statements

  • November 2018: Additional processing and finding aid updates by Sarah Glover.

Repository Details

Part of the American Sephardi Federation Repository

Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States