Jay Prosser's Avatar

Jay Prosser

@jaydprosser.bsky.social

Prof Humanities @universityofleeds. Personal and cultural stories to head off divisive times. Mixed race, Asian Jewish, trans veteran. Most recent: Loving Strangers. Working on: Holocaust Torah scroll shoe soles from Salonika. https://www.jayprosser.com

340 Followers  |  306 Following  |  63 Posts  |  Joined: 28.10.2023  |  1.9928

Latest posts by jaydprosser.bsky.social on Bluesky

Preview
Loving Strangers - Jewish Literary Foundation Watch Loving Strangers on the JLF Player. This event, featuring Jay Prosser and Leslie Hakim-Dowek, is from Jewish Book Week 2025.

Real privilege to do this conversation on objects, parents, grief and Jews from the Middle East with my dear friend Leslie Hakim-Dowek. jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/videos/lovin...

26.10.2025 21:17 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Job Opportunity at University of Leeds: Montague Burton Fellow in Jewish Studies Are you a dynamic person holding a recent doctoral degree with strong research and teaching interests in post-Holocaust visualities/materialities? Does your research and teaching demonstrate a sustain...

Join us at the Centre for Jewish Studies @universityofleeds.bsky.social. jobs.leeds.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...

30.09.2025 19:27 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Acquired it in Greece, not Poland.

10.07.2025 18:58 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Opening up pioneering Jewish historian’s treasured collection Looked at from one side, it’s the leather sole of a child’s shoe, a scarce resource re-purposed during wartime.

In the meantime, you can read the story of this object and the Roth Collection here: www.leeds.ac.uk/news-arts-cu...

10.07.2025 17:25 β€” πŸ‘ 14    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

This complex, fraught, and tragic object is currently being investigated by a team at the University of Leeds led by @jaydprosser.bsky.social. The sole has several layers, and multi-spectral imaging is being undertaken to understand the whole object. What are the other layers? We'll know soon.

10.07.2025 17:25 β€” πŸ‘ 17    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Transforming an Archival Object into an Educational Tool: the Czech Torah Scroll Sophia Lambert, a History PhD student, has been working as an Assistant on the Learning from Yorkshire’s Holocaust Torah Scrolls Project at the University of Leeds. In this post Sophia explores the…

leedsunilibrary.wordpress.com/2025/07/03/t... Author of this actually my assistant on the project Sophia Lambert.

08.07.2025 20:05 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
MSCA DN 2025: Jewish Cultural Heritage | The Marie SkΕ‚odowska-Curie Actions Matchmaking Platform The platform provides an opportunity for companies, SMEs, Universities, Research Centres, NGOs, to find partners and offer opportunities to future MSCA fellows

I am seeking academic and sectoral partners to join a consortium for a Horizon (EU) 2025 funding bid for a Marie SkΕ‚odowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network focused on Jewish Cultural Heritage. #Jewish #Heritage #Museums #Tourism #Culture www.b2match.com/e/radiance-m...

24.06.2025 15:18 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Horizon 2025 CSA, but may apply for an alternative. Can you send me an email once you've read this? Great to hear from you.

09.06.2025 10:27 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image 09.06.2025 10:26 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Crowdhelix login

Applying for EU funding. Please contact me if this call resonates for you: Bridging historical past and future potential through conservation, preservation, and adaptive use of Europe’s contentious and dissonant heritage. platform.crowdhelix.com/opportunitie....

09.06.2025 09:30 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

A year ago today. Paperback and US edition coming soon. Nothing without this person.

28.05.2025 16:55 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
Let’s embrace the REF’s radical redefinition of academic excellence We finally have a mechanism to overthrow the UK’s neo-feudal system of academic gatekeeping, say Krzysztof Nawratek andΒ Lakshmi Priya Rajendran

REF2029: 'shatters the artificial barrier between β€œprestigious” research and real-world impact.'. www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/lets...

01.05.2025 19:07 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Reform and liberal rabbis hit back at Supreme Court biological sex ruling - Jewish News Progressive clergy say judgment welcomed by feminists across the UK puts trans members at greater risk of discrimination and suicide

www.jewishnews.co.uk/reform-and-l... @jewishnews.bsky.social @rabbirobyn.bsky.social

17.04.2025 19:00 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Trans rights and political backlash: five key moments in history Over the last century, progress for trans people has been met with political and cultural backlash at every step.

I wrote about some precedents for yesterday's UK Supreme Court decision in @uk.theconversation.com. @transwatch.bsky.social @stonewalluk.bsky.social theconversation.com/trans-rights...

17.04.2025 12:20 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Not anymore apparently, Simone. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crim...

16.04.2025 18:06 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Universities in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union thought giving in to government demands would save their independence Before the Nazis, German universities were among the best in the world. Step by step, the universities gave up their independence until they were instruments of the state.

As I return fro the US researching Salonika Holocaust material culture in Jewish archives, I am reeling from what they, and my friends, are facing. Maybe In a few months time, I would not have been able to do such independent research. @uk.theconversation.com theconversation.com/universities....

11.04.2025 17:12 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Trump Administration Threatens Extreme Cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities Under the Trump administration, DOGE recommended staff cuts by as much as 70 to 80 percent, as well as the cancellation of all outstanding grants.

Today I met a curator of a small Holocaust museum in Nebraska who's already had to cancel an exhibition. www.artnews.com/art-news/new...

08.04.2025 23:31 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Wednesday April 2 2025, 6-7:30 PM. Loving Strangers: A Camphorwood Chest, a Legacy, a Son Returns. A conversation, with respondents Carol Becker (Columbia School of the Arts) and Mikhal Dekel (CUNY Graduate Center). Faculty House, Columbia University. Register here. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

23.03.2025 15:55 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

My article on the Jewish mahallah of Singapore now out with Journal of Transcultural Studies. Thanks to National Archives and Jewish Welfare Board Singapore for their fantastic resources. Looking forward to further collaboration on mapping the mahallah. heiup.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/tra...

10.03.2025 10:28 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
The Jewish Mahallah of Singapore as a Site of Transcultural Memory | The Journal of Transcultural Studies

thanks for letting me know, Sam! :) Hope this works now. heiup.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/tra...

10.03.2025 10:26 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Vol. 15 No. 1-2 (2024) | The Journal of Transcultural Studies

A new issue of the Journal of Transcultural Studies is now available open-access! It features articles by @jaydprosser.bsky.social (Leeds), Alexander Vesey (Tokyo), Ori Sela (Tel Aviv) and Dhruv Raina (New Delhi/Pune).

Great reads all; check them out here:
heiup.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/tra...

07.03.2025 14:23 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Video thumbnail

I interviewed my mother about why my Chinese grandmother became such a strong Jew. Here's what she said. More of this story of loving strangers @jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk on Sunday. jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/events/lovin...

05.03.2025 20:40 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Video thumbnail

My brilliant filmmaker niece, Rosa Prosser, is working on a film about our Asian Jewish legacy in Singapore. Here's a clip. More to come at jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/.../loving-s...

28.02.2025 14:57 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Returns to our mothers' archives. A visual conversation with Leslie Hakim-Dowek at @jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk next week. Still a few tickets left. jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/events/lovin...

27.02.2025 20:24 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Early 90s I used to live right next door to this. I don't remember parrots. New arrivals?

24.02.2025 18:54 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Loving Strangers - Jewish Literary Foundation Loving Strangers: A Camphorwood Chest, a Legacy, a Son ReturnsΒ is a powerful family memoir reimagining Jewish identity beyond the familiar landscapes of Europe and the Shoah, journeying through Iraq, ...

Next up: really excited to be in conversation @jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk Book Week with my dear friend, photographer Leslie Hakim-Dowek, on our parallel journeys into our mothers' archives. The things they keep. jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/events/lovin...

23.02.2025 21:15 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

Lovely to meet you, Anna. Looking forward to continued conversation.

21.02.2025 15:40 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image Post image

Now is precisely the time for loving strangers. @mcrjewishmuseum.bsky.social tonight. Please join me. www.manchesterjewishmuseum.com/event/secret...

20.02.2025 14:32 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image Post image

These would be used for storing tallit and tefillin and were gifted to Abdallah Iny, for his bar mitzvah in 1883.

It’s just incredible to think that these objects survived over 140 years and now have a home in our collection!

19.02.2025 16:43 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image Post image Post image

Is there an object that fascinates you?

Tomorrow, author Jay Prosser is leading a creative workshop for families, where we’ll write stories inspired by special objects in our lives.

We asked Jay to share an object that holds deep meaning for him and here’s what he said πŸ‘‡@jaydprosser.bsky.social

19.02.2025 16:43 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

@jaydprosser is following 20 prominent accounts