In this talk, Alon Tam will explore the social history of the Jewish community in Egypt, with a special emphasis on its place in the urban history of Cairo during the first half of the 20th century. Looking at public places such as coffeehouses, parks, neighborhoods, and more, he will examine the dynamics of everyday relations between Jews and Muslims in that city, touching on such issues as social hierarchy, performance of social identities, navigating political tension, and memory.
Alon Tam is a social historian of modern Egypt, and of its Jewish community. He has written about the social and political history of Cairo’s coffeehouses, about Cairo’s Jews and their place in its urban history, as well as on topics ranging from the Jewish press in Tangier, Morocco, to Blackface in Egyptian theater. Tam received his Ph.D. from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania, and he has held postdoctoral fellowships at Penn, Columbia University, and the University of California in Los Angeles.