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HIST332
American Jewry Since the 1880s
HIST332 FA
Not Currently Offered
What did the call to Americanize mean to Jewish immigrants?
That theme runs through this seminar will emphasize Eastern
European Jews as well as such topics as the conditions that
prompted the mass migration, the immigrants' early reactions
to life in American cities, Jewish workers and trade unions,
Jews in the Socialist and Communist parties, relations
between the new immigrants and Jews already established
here, the reconstruction of Judaism, the history of
anti-Semitism, Jews in the motion-picture industry and
sports, Jewish responses to Nazism, the rise of Zionism,
social mobility, relations between American Jews and
Israelis, and post-1967 Jewish politics.
MAJOR READINGS
(subject to change)
Mary Antin, THE PROMISED LAND (1912)
Irving Howe, THE WORLD OF OUR FATHERS (1976)
Mordecai M. Kaplan, JUDAISM AS A CIVILIZATION: TOWARD A
RECONSTRUCTION OF AMERICAN-JEWISH LIFE (1934)
Henry Feingold, A TIME FOR SEARCHING: ENTERING THE
MAINSTREAM, 1920-1945 (1992)
Michael Rogin, BLACKFACE, WHITE NOISE: AMERICAN JEWS IN THE
HOLLYWOOD MELTING POT (1996)
Aaron Berman, NAZISM, THE JEWS AND AMERICAN ZIONISM,
1933-1948 (1990)
Hillel Levine and Lawrence Harman, THE DEATH OF AN AMERICAN
JEWISH COMMUNITY (1992)
Plus a large collection of primary documents and articles.
EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Four five-page essays
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS
Admission by
interview. Students with knowledge of 20th century European
or U.S. history or Judaism. I would hope to have not only
Jewish students but others as well.
Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting
or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the
first class, they will be dropped from the class list.
NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form
to the Registrar's Office.
COURSE FORMAT: Seminar
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Level: UG Credit: 1.00
Gen Ed Area & Dept: SBS HIST
Prerequisites:
None
Last Updated on MAR-22-1999
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Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459