"Outside Looking In", Lecture by Michael Amo, Legislator, District #7

Rowley Center at SUNY Orange in Middletown

The United States is known as a “melting pot.” People from all over the world have come to America and call It their own.  Hundreds of ethnic and nationality groups comprise the population. Within those groups are hundreds of sub-groups based on language, religion, customs, and race. 

Orange County has a long history with many changes. Population shifts have occurred during the centuries. One that has recently evolved is the movement of large numbers of Hasidic Jews from Brooklyn to Orange County. How has that affected the longtime generations of residents, both Jews and non-Jews? Do the differences in culture and custom clash?

On Thursday, September 17, at 6:30pm, venue: Rowley Center for Science and Engineering, Gerry Forum, room 010, Michael Amo will speak on the Hasidic Satmar Jewish community which resides within the boundaries of the legislative district which he has represented in the Orange County Legislature for three +(plus) decades. A non-Jew and a political minority member of the legislature, Amo holds a unique perspective in how to best represent them. He has researched their community and worked with local members of the Satmar Hasidim to better understand their traditions, values, and priorities.

His lecture, Outside Looking In, given from a scholarly approach and based on many years of research and interaction with the Satmar Hasidic Jewish residents, will examine the community's approach to separation and self-preservation, ultimately illuminating the humanity and core values of the Satmar in relationship to the world around them. He will describe how they manage conflicts among themselves, and the non-Hasidic or secular world of Orange County, discussing the subject through historical, philosophical, social science, and literary lenses. A moderated Q&A will follow the lecture.

Michael F. Amo represents District 7 of the Orange County, NY Legislature, covering the towns of Monroe, Palm Tree, and Woodbury. He is a retired administrator from the NYS Office of Mental Health. 

Rowley Center for Science and Engineering is located at 10 East Conkling Ave., Middletown. Free parking can be found in the college lots at 24 Grandview Avenue and lots on South Street. 

Questions may be directed to cultural@sunyorange.edu

website: www.sunyorange.edu/culturalaffairs