Unaccompanied Jewish child migrants in British and French Jewish humanitarianism (1903-1948). Charlotte Canizo is pursuing a Collaborative Doctoral Award at the University of Oxford in partnership with the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET). Her thesis, co-supervised by Pr. Abigail Green and Dr. Jenny Carson, looks at unaccompanied Jewish child migrants in British and French Jewish humanitarianism from 1903 to 1948. It explores the continuities and ruptures in the care of unaccompanied Jewish child migrants throughout this period, as well as the motivations of French and British Jewish humanitarian organisations in supporting them. It aims to place the history of Jewish humanitarianism towards children in a longer perspective, whereas most research focuses mainly on the Holocaust and the 1930s. By examining the precursors of the relief actions of the 1930s and 1940s, this thesis promises to refresh existing historiography by deepening the understanding of the broader context in which French and British Jewish humanitarians carried out their actions. While France and Britain are the focus of this research, it is important to note that humanitarian efforts to rescue Jewish children were deeply transnational, involving extensive cooperation beyond these two countries. Therefore, this thesis also looks at the involvement of Jewish organisations located in other countries, such as the United States, Canada, and South Africa, in cooperation with French and British ones.
Friederike Schwelle's interdisciplinary project ‘Modern Jews and Ancient Egypt: Patrons, Collectors and Scholars in Europe c1880-1950’ explores the role Jewish actors played in the field of Western European Egyptology from c1880 to the aftermath of the Second World War. These academics, collectors, curators, dealers, excavators and patrons can be regarded simultaneously as agents of empire, members of diasporic networks and victims of discrimination and destructive nationalism. This research maps out a network of Jewish actors and analyses how far the common goal of the study of an ancient civilization led to collaborative efforts – both across national borders and between public and private actors – in an era of imperialism and intense geopolitical competition.
' A plutocratic taste ? New money, collections and the consumption of luxury goods in England and in France, c.1870-1930 '
Constance Booker is a PhD student at Durham University, under the supervision of Dr. Tom Stammers. Her thesis explores the material and social identities of transnational Jewish families in England and in France at the turn of the twentieth century. By studying the houses, collections and patterns of consumption of a dozen families, her project aims to examine the cultural and stylistic values that underpinned their supranational identity and taste.
