Exhibit: Symbols of Identity and Diversity: Judaica from the Permanent Collection of the Spurlock Museum

• Event Date: Tuesday, January 31, 2017–Sunday, April 30, 2017
• Location: Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL
• Cost: Free

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Ethnogenesis, the process by which ethnic groups come into being, is lengthy and complicated, and it has happened in different ways throughout human history. It can involve several different identity-making actions using language, religion, geography, history, culture, and other factors. We occasionally get glimpses of this process through cultural artifacts, ancient and historic texts, and people’s explanations of particular practices.

Inspired by upcoming campus lectures on Jewish ethnogenesis, the Museum has selected artifacts from its Judaica collection that reference the formation of the Jewish people and illustrate diversification in Jewish identities over time.