Dr. Annie Polland discusses the transition from Eastern European shtetls and cities to the crowded streets of the Lower East Side with a focus on Jewish immigrant women’s pivotal roles in both shaping their homes and New York’s growing economy.
A complimentary guided tour of the Vilna and its history will run approximately 45 minutes before the start of the program.
Dr. Annie Polland is a public historian, author and Executive Director of the American Jewish Historical Society. Previously, she served as the Vice President for Programs & Education at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, where she oversaw exhibits and interpretation. Dr. Polland is the co-author, with Daniel Soyer, of Emerging Metropolis: New York Jews in the Age of Immigration, winner of the 2012 National Jewish Book Award. She received her Ph.D. in History from Columbia University, and served as Vice President of Education at the Museum at Eldridge Street, where she wrote Landmark of the Spirit (Yale University). Dr. Polland has taught at New York University and serves as an educator for the Bronfman Fellowship. She grew up in Milwaukee, WI and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.