Stone Lecture: Convert, Leave, or Die: Can the Jews of Spain Go Home Again?

Biological anthropologist Dr. Suzanne Walker-Pacheco will deliver this year's Stone Lecture in Judaism on the history of Sephardic Judaism and her quest to become a Spanish citizen.

The lecture is entitled "Convert, Leave, or Die: Can the Jews of Spain Go Home Again?"

Dr. Walker-Pacheco teaches about biological determinism and its effects on marginalized peoples, past and present. In 2018, she and her son, Julian,  a 2021 Augustana graduate, began to embark on a personal as well as an academic journey. They responded to an invitation from the Spanish government for the descendants of the Jews banished from 15th century Spain to rediscover their roots by obtaining dual citizenship with Spain. 

Dr. Walker-Pacheco is a professor at Missouri State University in Springfield. She spent years studying primates in their natural habitat, primarily in the neotropics, but has more recently focused on medical anthropology and Latino health issues. She also assists law enforcement officials with the identification of skeletal remains.

The Stone Lectureship in Judaism was established in 1983 by family and friends of Dr. and Mrs. Alex B. Stone. The purpose of the endowment is to provide a yearly lecture and an expanded program in Judaic studies at Augustana College.