Book Launch: “Strangers in the West: The Syrian Colony of New York City, 1880-1900”

LAU NY

LAU’s New York Academic Center is Co-sponsoring the book launch of  “Strangers in the West: The Syrian Colony of New York City, 1880-1900” with MEMEAC, the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY) & the American University of Beirut (AUB) on Wednesday, December 9.

“Strangers in the West” is the never-before-told story of immigrants from “Greater Syria” who settled in tenements on the lower west side of Manhattan, founding an Arabic-speaking enclave just south of the future site of the World Trade Center. Arriving in the New World with little more than their resourcefulness and business acumen, these immigrants quickly built a thriving “colony” that was the cultural and economic center of the Syrian/Lebanese diaspora in America.

Linda K. Jacobs, author of the book, is a New York-based scholar and author. She holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Archaeology/Anthropology and spent many years working on archaeological excavations and economic development projects in the Middle East. 

All are welcome to attend.