Our 2026 Sit-a-Spell Virtual Summer Lecture Series will include three online lectures on lesser-known elements of Southern Jewish history:

• Southern Jews and Comedy on Thursday July 23rd, 6:00 pm CT

• "Xueta Island" Filmmaker Talk on Thursday July 30th, 12:00 pm CT

• Southern Jewish Mayors on Thursday, August 6th, 6:00 pm CT 

The first lecture installment, "Southern Jews and Comedy," (7/23) will feature Jennifer Caplan, Associate Professor & The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati Chair in Judaic Studies at University of Cincinnati. Caplan will discuss some contemporary Jewish comedians who use their experiences growing up Jewish in the South in their comedy. Stand-up comedians such as Matthew Broussard and Amanda Marks have discussed their Southern, Jewish childhoods while Kinky Friedman wrote several satiric songs about being Jewish in Texas. We will also discuss some of the historic and cultural trends that have led to the misapprehension that Jews do not and have not lived in large numbers in any place but the east and west coasts.