Derek Miller | University of Richmond (original) (raw)
Papers by Derek Miller
A small group of Sephardic Jews were part of the tide of peoples arriving in the Americas during ... more A small group of Sephardic Jews were part of the tide of peoples arriving in the Americas during the early modern period. Despite not having a state themselves or a clear sense of citizenship within the states where they settled, they managed to establish thriving communities throughout the Americas. Jews fell into a liminal place within colonial social hierarchies, as they were not considered African/black and therefore enslaved, but also were a religious other to Christian Europe. Relying upon the benefits that their merchant skills provided to the European colonies, Jews sought to establish their own place within island life where they could recover from the horrors of the Inquisition and re-connect to their material and religious heritage. In this paper, I explore the material practices of the Jewish community on Barbados. This community was started in the 1630s and continued through the 19th century. I argue that the Jews produced communal places and material practices to ground a Jewish identity within historic discourses, collective memories, and messianic hopes. These spatial and material practices created a social solidarity that did not require political control of a territory and transcended the social distances of the diaspora.
Post-Medieval Archaeology: 45(2):357-362, 2011
During the 17th and 18th century a number of Jews settled on the English island of Barbados and t... more During the 17th and 18th century a number of Jews settled on the English island of Barbados and the Dutch island of St. Eustatius. The Jews on both islands erected synagogues and a number of key structures essential for a practicing religious community. Although they had strong connections that spanned across geo-political boundaries, the synagogue compounds on each island became key places for the creation and maintenance of a Jewish community. I argue that these synagogue compounds represented diasporic places that must be understood through a tri-partite model that explores the relationships between the Jewish community and its hostland, other dispersed Jewish communities, and the homeland. Furthermore, during the early modern period, these compounds were “heterotopias” within the colonial landscape. Heterotopias, as places of alternative ordering, speak to the constructions of social and cultural difference. For the Jews, the synagogue compounds provided them a chance to create a place founded on their cultural values and ideals within the Christian controlled spaces of both islands. Alternatively, for the Christian communities on the islands, the synagogue compounds highlighted how the Jewish community had different loyalties and values than they did. In exploring the ways that these places served as heterotopias, and for how long they were sites of alternative ordering, this dissertation demonstrates the fundamental role that places play in the formation and maintenance of diasporic communities and the dynamic relationship between spaces, places, and identities in the early modern period.
Drafts by Derek Miller
COMING SOON : Pre-Colonial and Post-Contact Archaeology in Barbados. Past, Present, and Future Re... more COMING SOON : Pre-Colonial and Post-Contact Archaeology in Barbados. Past, Present, and Future Research Directions
Edited by Maaike S. de Waal, Niall Finneran & Matthew C. Reilly with Douglas V. Armstrong & Kevin Farmer
With contributions by Alan D. Armstrong, Douglas V. Armstrong, Lindsay Bloch, Liesje Cole-Pragnell, Christopher Crain, Alissandra Cummins, Maaike S. De Waal, Niall Finneran, Scott M. Fitzpatrick, Michael D. Glascock, Alexander Gray, Mary Hill Harris, Laura Hampden, Tara A. Inniss, Quetta Kaye, Alice Lathbury, Rachel Lichtenstein, Derek Miller, Ainsley Norris, Matthew C. Reilly, Kristrina A. Shuler, Hannes Schroeder, Frederick H. Smith, William D. Stevens, Diane Wallman and Lucy Willans.
For more info & pre-order with a discount: https://www.sidestone.com/books/pre-colonial-and-post-contact-archaeology-in-barbados
A small group of Sephardic Jews were part of the tide of peoples arriving in the Americas during ... more A small group of Sephardic Jews were part of the tide of peoples arriving in the Americas during the early modern period. Despite not having a state themselves or a clear sense of citizenship within the states where they settled, they managed to establish thriving communities throughout the Americas. Jews fell into a liminal place within colonial social hierarchies, as they were not considered African/black and therefore enslaved, but also were a religious other to Christian Europe. Relying upon the benefits that their merchant skills provided to the European colonies, Jews sought to establish their own place within island life where they could recover from the horrors of the Inquisition and re-connect to their material and religious heritage. In this paper, I explore the material practices of the Jewish community on Barbados. This community was started in the 1630s and continued through the 19th century. I argue that the Jews produced communal places and material practices to ground a Jewish identity within historic discourses, collective memories, and messianic hopes. These spatial and material practices created a social solidarity that did not require political control of a territory and transcended the social distances of the diaspora.
Post-Medieval Archaeology: 45(2):357-362, 2011
During the 17th and 18th century a number of Jews settled on the English island of Barbados and t... more During the 17th and 18th century a number of Jews settled on the English island of Barbados and the Dutch island of St. Eustatius. The Jews on both islands erected synagogues and a number of key structures essential for a practicing religious community. Although they had strong connections that spanned across geo-political boundaries, the synagogue compounds on each island became key places for the creation and maintenance of a Jewish community. I argue that these synagogue compounds represented diasporic places that must be understood through a tri-partite model that explores the relationships between the Jewish community and its hostland, other dispersed Jewish communities, and the homeland. Furthermore, during the early modern period, these compounds were “heterotopias” within the colonial landscape. Heterotopias, as places of alternative ordering, speak to the constructions of social and cultural difference. For the Jews, the synagogue compounds provided them a chance to create a place founded on their cultural values and ideals within the Christian controlled spaces of both islands. Alternatively, for the Christian communities on the islands, the synagogue compounds highlighted how the Jewish community had different loyalties and values than they did. In exploring the ways that these places served as heterotopias, and for how long they were sites of alternative ordering, this dissertation demonstrates the fundamental role that places play in the formation and maintenance of diasporic communities and the dynamic relationship between spaces, places, and identities in the early modern period.
COMING SOON : Pre-Colonial and Post-Contact Archaeology in Barbados. Past, Present, and Future Re... more COMING SOON : Pre-Colonial and Post-Contact Archaeology in Barbados. Past, Present, and Future Research Directions
Edited by Maaike S. de Waal, Niall Finneran & Matthew C. Reilly with Douglas V. Armstrong & Kevin Farmer
With contributions by Alan D. Armstrong, Douglas V. Armstrong, Lindsay Bloch, Liesje Cole-Pragnell, Christopher Crain, Alissandra Cummins, Maaike S. De Waal, Niall Finneran, Scott M. Fitzpatrick, Michael D. Glascock, Alexander Gray, Mary Hill Harris, Laura Hampden, Tara A. Inniss, Quetta Kaye, Alice Lathbury, Rachel Lichtenstein, Derek Miller, Ainsley Norris, Matthew C. Reilly, Kristrina A. Shuler, Hannes Schroeder, Frederick H. Smith, William D. Stevens, Diane Wallman and Lucy Willans.
For more info & pre-order with a discount: https://www.sidestone.com/books/pre-colonial-and-post-contact-archaeology-in-barbados