The Literature of Jewish Modernity

Catalog description

As Jews were emancipated in Europe and freed from the “ghetto,” some began to grapple with the challenges of modernity through literary genres like poetry and fiction; others through more traditionalist genres. Either way, the path of the modern Jewish writer seemed to entail a good deal alienation, nostalgia, and regret, as well as the need to contend with increasingly virulent forms of anti-Semitism, culminating in the Holocaust. Despite the tension and anguish we will discover works of beauty and poignancy that yield profound insights into the modern experience.