UWF and Pensacola Jewish Federation to host cultural historian

The University of West Florida and the Pensacola Jewish Federation will host Dr. David Meola as he presents “Mirror of Competing Claims: Exclusionary Violence and Jewish Equality in the German States,” on Feb. 27 at the UWF Center for Fine & Performing Arts, Building 82.

The presentation will explore the meaning behind the Haber Affair of 1843, a pair of duels and series of public events that captivated the German press for nearly a year. At the center of the affair were Moritz von Haber and his father, Karlsruhe Court Banker. The abandonment of the Jewish-German community by Haber put Banker’s honor, masculinity and German nationality at stake. The affair shows the contested nature of German societal leadership and the complicated nature of Jewish-German life.

Meola serves as the Fanny and Bert Meisler Assistant Professor of History and Jewish Studies at the University of South Alabama. Meola received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He holds a doctorate in history and master’s degree in European studies from the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada. His research focuses on Jewish-German life from 1815 to 1848, with emphasis on how Jewish Germans participated in the public sphere and in the nascent German liberal movement. Meola has published several articles relating to his research and is currently working on a book that is under contract with University of Toronto Press.

Since 2011, PJF and UWF have partnered to host an annual lecture by a Jewish history scholar. Sponsors include the PJF; the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities; the Department of English; and the Department of History.

The reception and lecture are free and open to the public, with a reception at 5:30 p.m. and the lecture at 6 p.m. Tickets are not required, but seating is limited.