Beyond the Pale
A History of the Pale of Settlement
3 Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. ET
Oct. 22 - Nov. 5
All classes are recorded and sent to registrants.
Even if you don't know the term "Pale of Settlement," you are likely aware of its legacy.
A large portion of Ashkenazi Jews throughout the Diaspora trace their roots to the shtetls and towns of this region of the former Russian Empire — think Anatevka and "Fiddler on the Roof." But decades of brutal discrimination forced millions to leave.
In this new online course from two-time National Jewish Book Award winner Elissa Bemporard, we will trace the origin of the Pale of Settlement and the development of legislation against Jews in Tsarist Russia, from the late-18th century to the early decades of the 20th century.
By focusing on the legal restrictions on residency, movement and occupations imposed on the Jewish population, this course explores the impact of prejudice on Jewish culture, politics and everyday life in what was one of the largest Jewish communities in the world.
This is your rare chance to learn from a top historian! Join us!
Purchases of this course are non-refundable.
About Your Teacher
Elissa Bemporad is is professor of history and chair in East European Jewish History and the Holocaust at Queens College and the Graduate Center - CUNY. She is a two-time winner of the National Jewish Book Award. Bemporad is the author of three monographs, including "Legacy of Blood: Jews, Pogroms, and Ritual Murder in the Lands of the Soviets" (Oxford University Press, 2019), and the editor of several volumes, including, most recently, "Pogroms: A Documentary History" (Oxford University Press, 2021) and "The Destruction of Dubova: Chronicle of a Dead City" (Bloomsbury 2025). Her work has appeared in different languages, including French, Hebrew, Yiddish, Italian and Russian.
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