Adam Stern
Resident Fellow (2022-2023)
Assistant Professor, German, Nordic, and Slavic+; Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies, UW–Madison
In 1870, the Crémieux decree proclaimed the instantaneous and comprehensive emancipation of (nearly all) Algerian Jews. Unlike Algerian Muslims, the Jews of Algeria acquired a variety of civil and political rights that had previous been denied to them as indigènes (natives). At that moment, formerly indigenous Jews became settlers in their own land. Using the Algerian experience as a backdrop, the presentation will investigate the concept of “emancipation” within the context of settler colonialism. Is the Algerian experience generalizable? What is the relationship between emancipation and colonial settlement? How does one triangulate the three terms: settlers, natives, Jews?
Adam Stern arrived at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2019. He previously held a position as a postdoctoral associate in the Whitney Humanities Center and Program for the Study of Antisemitism at Yale University. His first book, Survival: A Theological-Political Genealogy, was published with the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2021. Recent articles have appeared in journals such as CR: The New Centennial Review, Modern Intellectual History, Critical Times, and Theory & Event. He is currently working on two book-length projects: Settlers, Natives, Jews and No Hands: An Archaeology of Emancipation.
*Events currently open only to 2022-23 fellows due to space concerns; please contact IRH at info@irh.wisc.edu to be added to a cancellation list for in-person events.*