The Circumcis’d: Representations of the Jewish Lecher 1660-1800

This paper will discuss the role and significance of the lecherous Jew in eighteenth-century British print culture.  Surveying some of the many novels, plays, pamphlets, and prints that depicted this anti-Jewish stereotype, it will examine the developing cultural connections between Jewish masculinity, sexual deviance, and sexual dysfunction.  

Dr Noelle Gallagher is a Senior Lecturer in Eighteenth-Century Literature and Culture at the University of Manchester. Her most recent book, Itch, Clap, Pox: Venereal Disease in the Eighteenth-Century Imagination, examines the representation of venereal disease in British literature and graphic art produced between 1660 and 1800, and her current research investigates depictions of Jewish bodies in 18th century popular culture.

All welcome- this seminar is free to attend, but advance registration is required.