EUGENE–Riv-Ellen Prell, an anthropologist and professor of American studies at the University of Minnesota, visits Eugene next week for the third annual Singer Lecture in Judaic Studies at the University of Oregon.

The free public talk, "Ghetto Girls, Jewish Mothers, Princess Daughters: The Issue of Gender for American Jews," will begin at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 19, in Room 110 of the Knight Law Center, 1515 Agate St. Prell’s discussion will relate to her most recent book, "Fighting to Become Americans: Assimilation and the Trouble Between Jewish Women and Jewish Men." The book explores issues of class and gender among 20th-century American Jews.

Prell will discuss what she calls "intra-ethnic" stereotypes. While much has been written about the stereotypes members of a dominant group hold about minorities, she has focused on the stereotypes Jewish men and women hold about each other. She says similar internal stereotypes can be found in other minority groups, including African Americans and Asian Americans, as a result of their assimilation into a culture in which many external stereotypes exist about them.

"Virtually every minority group engages in this process of internalizing images from the larger culture and turning them against those who are closest: members of the opposite sex," says Prell.

Prell also teaches Jewish studies and women’s studies at Minnesota. Her earlier book, "Prayer and Community: The Havurah in American Judaism," earned her a 1990 National Jewish Book Award. She co-edited "Interpreting Women’s Lives: Personal Narratives and Feminist Theory," for which she received a 1990 Critics Choice Award from the American Education Studies Association. Her many articles largely concern how class and gender have shaped American Jewish culture.

The lecture is organized by the UO Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies and sponsored by the Singer Family Visiting Scholars Fund in Judaic Studies. Kenneth and Georgianne Singer and Roberta Singer of Eugene established the endowment in 1998 to bring distinguished academics from other universities to Oregon for the annual lecture series. Prell’s visit also is supported by the UO Center for the Study of Women in Society.

For more information, contact the UO Judaic Studies Program at (541) 346-5288.

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