CFP: Articles for the Victorian Jewish Writers Project

The Victorian Jewish Writers Project (vjwp.org) is an archive dedicated to the study of Judaism in nineteenth-century Britain. Jews have played a prominent part in British history and culture. British Jews were extremely prolific writers, leaving behind a treasury of literary materials showcasing their lives, interests, and concerns. Thanks to the pioneering efforts of researchers who have scoured archives and museums in order to publish books and articles, Anglo-Jewish authors such as Israel Zangwill and Grace Aguilar are increasingly becoming known to scholars and students of the nineteenth century. VJWP makes these authors accessible once more to anyone with an interest in British Jewry. In some cases, this means providing information about books and authors who lived in Victorian Britain. In most cases, we are able to provide full-text scans of works by nineteenth-century British Jews. Ultimately, we want VJWP to be an open resource that presents and examines archival information on this fascinating but understudied period of Jewish history.

In addition to bibliographic data, our goal is to provide analysis of the long nineteenth century and the main figures who lived through it. Therefore, the site is organized into three “exhibits”: Exhibit I is the Romantic Period, Exhibit II is the Victorian Period, and Exhibit III is the Modern Period. Each exhibit consists of a list of People, Places, Ideas, and Items. Prominent persons are listed under “People,” and major authors will have links to their own pages where readers can find information about their lives and links to their works. Prominent places like Jewish schools and synagogues can be found under “Places.” “Ideas” lists concepts popular in the time period that would have affected the authors of the exhibit in question. Finally, “Items” is a bibliography of the books in the section with links to their specific VJWP page.

Because VJWP is meant to be a collaborative project, we are seeking 1000-2500 word articles on authors, rabbis, synagogues, schools, and issues that will be published as entries in Exhibit I: The Romantic Period (1780-1832). We hope to receive articles that provide detailed and current information on the following topics:

Articles on people should include biographical information as well as career histories. (An example can be found at https://victorianjewishwritersproject.org/grace-aguilar.html.) Entries on buildings should give a summary of the institution and its role in the Anglo-Jewish community of the period. Articles on issues should explain the issue and the relevance to the Anglo-Jewish community of the period.

Please direct questions and expressions of interest to Brandon and Lindsay Katzir at katzir@vjwp.org. Contributors are welcome to prepare more than one article for publication on the website.