The Lower East Side and Beyond: American Jewish History 1880-2000

Catalog description

In this course we will explore the forces that have shaped American Jewry and made it what it is today. We will ask how the Jews who came to America as immigrants created a unique form of Jewish life that combined the political and social traditions of their old countries with the ethos and values they found here. Another key question is the place of American Jews in the Jewish world prior to World War II and how this affected the American Jewish public arena. We will then examine the post-Holocaust years focusing on the creation of a new American Judaism, as well as the cultural, literary and ideological accomplishments of American Jews. We will also examine the complex relationship between American Jews and the State of Israel and how it has shaped Jewish life in the United States.