Thinking Forward with Jewish Studies: Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano

As part of our countdown to the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies’ 40th anniversary Gala on May 13th, we are sharing a special video series focusing on individual stories related to UW Jewish Studies. In this clip, we hear from Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano, a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Program in Near and Middle Eastern Studies. Oscar is the 2013-14 Mickey Sreebny Memorial Scholar in Jewish Studies and a member of the Jewish Studies Graduate Fellowship. A chance encounter with Prof. Devin Naar, Chair of the Sephardic Studies Program, helped to change Oscar’s research direction towards Ladino and Sephardic culture.

Thinking Forward with Jewish Studies: Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano

Curious to find out more? Come to the Jewish Studies Spring Research Symposium on Friday, May 2 to hear Oscar present his research project on the poetry of Yehuda (Leon) Behar alongside other Graduate Fellows. You can also read two recent blog posts by Oscar:

My Winter Quarter in Istanbul (March 2014)

Learning Ladino, a Language I Already Knew (Jan. 2014)

Stay tuned for more videos sharing the stories of UW Jewish Studies’ amazing students, faculty, and community supporters as we continue celebrating our 40th anniversary!

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⇒ Learn more about the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Washington, our Sephardic Studies Program, or our Israel Studies Program.

Note: The opinions expressed by faculty and students in our publications reflect the views of the individual writer only and not those of the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies.

About the Author: Hannah Pressman

Dr. Hannah Pressman writes about modern Jewish culture, religion, and identity. A lifelong lover of languages and literatures, she earned her Ph.D. in modern Hebrew literature from New York University. She is co-editor of Choosing Yiddish: New Frontiers of Language and Culture (2012). Her writing has appeared in Tablet, the Forward, Lilith, eSefarad, and My Jewish Learning. Dr. Pressman is the former Communications Director and Graduate Fellowship Coordinator at the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies. She is currently at work on a memoir about her Sephardic family history, connected to explorations of contemporary American Jewish identity.