The Jewish Experience in America

“The Jewish Experience in America”
Judaic 375
Professor Dr. Aviva Ben-Ur
Fall 2004

Classroom: Herter 207
Class Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:00-2:15 p.m.
Office: Herter Hall 731, Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Office Telephone: (413) 577-0649
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:00-6:00 and by appointment
E-mail: aben-ur@judnea.umass.edu

Course Description
     The United States is home to the second largest (after the State of Israel), and arguably most influential, Jewish community in the world. This course will explore the development of the Jewish community and Jewish social and religious institutions in the United States from socio-historical, religious and cultural perspectives, and through the often overlapping lenses of religion, ethnicity, race, culture and community. While this course will progress chronologically, the emphasis, particularly during the latter half of the course, will be topical. This course is meant to introduce students to the sources historians use to reconstruct the past, and we will thus explore a variety of genres (wills, memoirs, portraits, inventories, letters, diaries, and historical fiction) and ways of approach and analysis. Themes include immigration patterns, labor movements, regional variations, traditional denominations and religious innovations, gendered experiences, and interaction with “mainstream” American culture. Through the exploration of primary and secondary source readings, class lectures, overheads, and film, the uniqueness and diversity of American Jews and their communities will be explored from both traditional and innovative perspectives.
     We will be viewing two films, both relating to written texts. Students will write at least one film review dealing with a film and related readings (25%). Students will also be assessed through a midterm and second exam (60%), and class engagement (15%).

Course Requirements

Prerequisites
     While there are no prerequisites for this course, “The Jewish People I” or “The Jewish People II” are recommended as preparatory background. This is a university, not a seminary--you need not be of Jewish ancestry or religion to take and/or succeed in this course. For those seeking a basic understanding of the Jewish religion, recommended reading is Rabbi Milton Steinberg’s Basic Judaism (“the essential book for both Jews and non-Jews eager to know more about one of the world’s great religions), San Diego, New York, London: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1975.

Readings

· Readings include books, Electronic Reserves texts, and documents and visuals posted to the class website and/or viewed in class.
· Readings from the books, Electronic Reserves texts, and website must be completed before the class session in which they are assigned.

Exams
     Students will take two in-class exams on the readings, class website documents and visuals, lectures, and movies/movie clips. The second exam is NOT cumulative.

Movie Reviews
     Students will write two reviews of movies or movie clips viewed in class, and will comment on these movies within the framework of assigned readings. These reviews should be five pages (I stop reading at the end of the fifth page, not including endnotes and bibliography). Specific assignments (i.e. themes of the reviews) will be posted to the course website. Students may, with the professor’s approval, choose to write on a movie not considered in this class. In such a case, the assignment will be specially designed for the student. Writing more than two reviews is one way to enhance the class engagement portion of your grade.
     Only ONE review will count for the 25% portion of your grade; in other words, your lowest review score will be dropped. If you wish, you may opt to write only one review, however it is highly recommended you write two and drop the lowest score. Reviews are due to the professor in class one week after they are assigned and lose 3 points for each calendar day late. No electronic submissions will be accepted.

“Articles of Interest Submitted by Students”
     Students are encouraged to share with the professor articles or books relevant to this class. Synopses of these readings will be posted on the website and will acknowledge the student for his/her submission. Such submissions will count towards the class engagement portion of the grade. Where possible, please submit these to the professor electronically for easy posting.

“Ask the Professor”
     Students are encouraged to ask questions in class. Students should also feel free to submit questions to the professor via email or in handwritten form. The website for this course has an “Ask the Professor” section, inviting students to raise questions which may then be addressed in class. Such questions will count towards the class engagement portion of the grade.

Missed Classes and Exams
     Students arriving late to class, after attendance is taken, are required to alert the professor to their presence at the end of class. Otherwise, they will be marked absent. While attendance will not be mathematically factored into your final grade, it will be informally factored into the class engagement portion of your grade.
     Students with lab exams or students involved in University-sanctioned activities (such as athletics and field trips) that may require them to miss an exam must submit notes from their professors. Students who fall ill or have a personal emergency requiring them to miss an exam must submit detailed written documentation (e.g. from Health Services, a personal physician, landlord, court magistrate, Dean of Students, etc.) explaining their absence. If an exam is given during a student’s unexcused absence, the student will receive a “0” for that exam. No oral communications regarding failure to fulfill any course requirement will be accepted. This university-sanctioned policy is necessary in order to protect both professor and student.
     Important note: there are no make-up exams, nor can an exam be given early or late because of a special circumstance. If you think you may miss exams, you should seriously consider dropping the course. See: “Personal Problems” below.
     In the case that a student cannot avoid missing a class, that student is still responsible for the material covered and for changes in the class schedule announced during that class and/or on the class website. Students who must miss class for whatever reason (lab exams, University-sanctioned activities, such as athletics and field trips, illness, personal emergency) should get the notes from a reliable classmate. For this purpose, make sure to exchange your phone number/email address with at least two fellow classmates. In the case that a student cannot avoid missing a class, that student is still responsible for the material covered and for changes in the class schedule announced during that class.

Personal Problems that Interfere with Academic Work
     If students encounter a life crisis that interferes with their academic work they should inform their student Dean, who will then confidentially contact the Professor.

Official Warning
     Academic dishonesty (also known as “plagiarism” or “cheating”) is absolutely forbidden in any form. This includes presenting someone else’s work as your own in a movie review, glancing at someone else’s paper during an exam, bringing prepared answers and submitting them as one’s exam, and communicating in any form during an exam—including with a pager or cell phone—even after an exam has been submitted. TURN OFF CELL PHONES BEFORE YOU ENTER THE CLASSROOM. Cell phones that go off during an exam will be immediately confiscated. Any student who commits academic dishonesty will receive an automatic “F” for the course. There are absolutely no exceptions to this policy. For details on Academic Dishonesty, refer to the 2005-2005 “Undergraduate Rights and Responsibilities” handbook.

Course Outlines and Other Class-Related Material
     Course outlines will be posted to the class website the evening before each lecture. Occasionally, due to unforeseeable circumstances, a course outline may be posted the day of the class or later.
     In addition, occasional documents or visuals will also be posted to this website and announced in class. See the website for other pertinent information, such as the syllabus, a course description, movie review assignments, and “articles of interest.”
     The website address is: http://courses.umass.edu/juda375/

Receiving Extra Assistance

Learning Disabilities
     Students with learning disabilities should immediately contact:

     Disabilities Services
     231 Whitmore Administration Building
     University of Massachusetts
     Amherst, MA 01003-9256
     (413) 545-0892
     DS@educ.umass.edu

     DS will evaluate and diagnose students, and then contact the professor within the first few weeks of class. The professor will not accept claims about learning disabilities unless they are documented by Disabilities Services.
     Students with documented learning disabilities must submit a form to the professor at least a week before each exam or movie review due date if they would like an extended-time exam or due date extension.

Required Texts
The following books have been ordered from Food for Thought Bookstore and are required for all students (note: they are shelved under Judaic 375):

· Helen Jacobus Apte. Heart of a Wife: The Diary of a Southern Jewish Woman (Wilmington, Delaware: SR Books, 1998).
· Eli N. Evans. The Lonely Days were Sundays: Reflections of a Jewish Southerner (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1993).

      Food for Thought bookstore:
     106 N. Pleasant St., Amherst
     (413) 253-5432

Also required is:

· Ben-Ur, Aviva. Electronic Course Page for “American Jewish Experience.” In this syllabus, the Electronic Course Page is designated as (ECP)

Readings may be found at: http://ereserves.library.umass.edu/

Click on the “Click Here for Course Readings!” link, and search for your course reading page using instructor or department name.

You will need a password, which will be distributed on the first day of class. Please note that all letters in your password are lower-case, and that if you lose your password, you should get it from the professor—THE LIBRARY WILL NOT DISTRIBUTE PASSWORDS.

You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer to read the PDF files. Acrobat Reader may be downloaded for free at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

There is a “Troubleshooting” link on the electronic reserves home page. Students may wish to refer to this page if they encounter difficulties. There is a reporting form available on this page, as well as tips and contact information for support.

A hard copy of the electronic readings is also available on reserves in the W. E. B. DuBois library.

DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS CLASS UNLESS YOU HAVE UNIMPEDED ACCESS TO THE WEB AND ABILITY TO USE ADOBE ACROBAT READER!

This class emphasizes both attendance and class participation. Each class will focus on the assigned readings/movies/visuals and discussions of these readings/movies/visuals. Students should bring the readings with them to class!, since we will be analyzing these texts in class.

Calculation of Grades

· Two Exams 60%
· Movie Review 25%
· Class engagement 15%

Class Schedule with Assigned Readings
Note: readings listed under a date are due on that date!
Cultural note of interest: dates in parentheses are from the Hebrew calendar. On the Jewish New Year, which this year falls on Sept.16-17, the Hebrew year 5765 begins.

Thursday, September 9 (23 Elul): Introduction: Periodization and Overview

· No advanced readings required. Today’s lecture will be based on the following readings. Students are expected to complete these readings for the midterm exam.
· Jacob Rader Marcus. “The Periodization of American Jewish History,” Proceedings of the American Jewish Historical Society 47:3 (March 1958): 125-133.
· Jonathan Sarna. “Appendix: American Jewish Population Estimates, 1660-2000,” in Jonathan Sarna, American Judaism: A History (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2004), 375-376. No need to memorize entire list: the review for the midterm will clarify which dates and facts are important to know.
· Optional: Edward S. Shapiro. “Jews,” in Elliot Robert Barkan, ed., A Nation of Peoples: A Sourcebook on America’s Multicultural Heritage (Westport, CT and London: Greenwood Press, 1999), 330-353. Provides a helpful overview of American Jewish history.

Tuesday, September 14 (28 Elul): The “Stuff” of Jewish History: Material Culture

· David L. Barquist. “’That Noted and Proficient Mechanic’: The Life and Career of Myer Myers,” in David L. Barquist, ed., Myer Myers: Jewish silversmith in colonial New York (New Haven: London: Yale University Press, 2001), 25-75.

Thursday, September 16 (1 Tishrei)

· Jewish New Year (eve of Sept.15-eve of Sept.16); class canceled

Tuesday, September 21 (6 Tishrei): Inventories and Wills

· Last day to add/drop with no record: Undergraduate, Graduate, Stockbridge, Continuing Education
· Leo Hershkowitz. Wills of Early New York Jews (1704-1799) (New York: American Jewish Historical Society, 1967), pp.8-10 (Isaac Rodriquez Marques); 11-14 (Esther Brown); 21-26 (Isaac Pinheiro).
· Malcolm H. Stern. “Asser Levy—A New Look at Our Jewish Founding Father,” American Jewish Archives 26:1 (April 1974): 66-77.

Thursday, September 23 (8 Tishrei): Portraiture

· Last day to add/drop with no record: Undergraduate, Graduate, Stockbridge, Continuing Education
· Ellen Smith. “Portraits of a Community: The Image and Experience of Early American Jews,” in Richard Brilliant, ed., Facing the New World: Jewish Portraits in Colonial and Federal America (Munich and New York: Prestel, 1997), 9-21.
· Malcolm H. Stern. “Asser Levy—A New Look at Our Jewish Founding Father,” American Jewish Archives 26:1 (April 1974): 66-77.

Tuesday, September 28 (13 Tishrei): Colonial women

· David de Sola Pool. Portraits Etched in Stone: Early Jewish Settlers, 1682-1831 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952), 181.
· Doris Groshen Daniels. “Colonial Jewry: Religion, Domestic and Social Relations,” American Jewish Historical Society 66:3 (March 1977): 375-400.
· Irene D. Neu. “The Jewish Businesswoman in America,” American Jewish Historical Society 66: (September 1976-June 1977): 137-154.

Thursday, September 30 (15 Tishrei): Rights and Restrictions
Class WILL meet; Jewish holiday of Tabernacles (sukkot; Wed. eve Sept.29-Fri. eve Oct 1); observant students excused

· The following are all from Jacob Marcus, ed., The Jew in the American World: A Source Book (Detroit, Mich.: Wayne State University Press, 1996).

· “Political Rights and Disabilities under the English, 1669-1762,” pp.34-39.
· “Political Rights of American Jews, 1776-1840,” pp.93-104.
· Isaac Leeser Pleads for Equality of Rights for Jews, December 8, 1840,” top of p.158, pp.162-3.
· “Jew Hatred and General Grant, 1862-1870,” pp.196-202.
· “Emerging American Period, 1925-1960,” pp.396-405.
· “Equal Rights for Jews, 1964-1980s,” pp.497-504.

· Optional: J. H. Hollander. “The Naturalization of Jews in the American Colonies under the Act of 1740,” Proceedings of the American Jewish Historical Society 5 (1897): 103-117.

Tuesday, October 5 (20 Tishrei): The development of the “synagogue community”
Class WILL meet; this evening begins Hoshana Rabba (Tues. eve Oct. 5-Wed. eve Oct. 6=21 Tishrei)

· The following are all from Jacob Marcus, ed., The Jew in the American World: A Source Book (Detroit, Mich.: Wayne State University Press, 1996).

· “The Colonial Jewish Community, 1728 to ca. 1770,” pp.57-66.
· “American Jewish Communities, 1810-1812,” pp.131-136.
· “Religious Life in the United States, 1787-1826,” pp.139-140 and pp.144-145.

Thursday, October 7 (22 Tishrei): The development of a “community of synagogues:” American Jewish denominations
Class WILL meet; Jewish holiday of Shmini Atzeret (“eighth day of stopping;” eve of Oct.6-eve of Oct.7); observant students are excused

· The following are all from Jacob Marcus, ed., The Jew in the American World: A Source Book (Detroit, Mich.: Wayne State University Press, 1996).

· “Religious Life in the United States, 1787-1826,” pp.145-146.
· “Judaism under the Germans, 1873-1902,” pp.238-244. (CROSS OUT 244-246 FROM ERESERVES)
· “The Jewish Religion and its Adherents, 1937-1960,” pp.435-446. On print reserve in the book, The Jew in the American World.

Tuesday, October 12 (27 Tishrei): German Jewry Shaping the Economic Landscape

· Jacob Marcus, ed., “The Jews and the Economy, 1861-1895,” The Jew in the American World: A Source Book (Detroit, Mich.: Wayne State University Press, 1996), pp.219-227. On print reserve in the book, The Jew in the American World.

Thursday, October 14 (29 Tishrei): Midterm Exam
Cumulative exam; entire period

Tuesday, October 19 (4 Heshvan): Jews and Slavery

· Louis Ruchames. “The abolitionists and the Jews,” Proceedings of the American Jewish Historical Society 42:2 (December 1952): 131-155.

Thursday, October 21 (6 Heshvan): Southern Jews: Female Perspectives
Note: Monday, Oct. 25 is the last day to drop with ‘W’ - Undergraduate, Stockbridge, Continuing Education)

· Helen Jacobus Apte. Heart of a Wife: The Diary of a Southern Jewish Woman (Wilmington, Delaware: SR Books, 1998), pp.xi-xx and 73-182. Students are strongly encouraged to read the entire book, though only the aforementioned pages are mandatory.

Tuesday, October 26 (11 Heshvan): Jewtown

· Jacob A. Riis. “Jewtown” and “The Sweaters of Jewtown,” in How the Other Half Lives (New York: Penguin, 1997; first published 1890), pp.82-102.
· “The Social Life of the East European Jewish Immigrant: Life on New York’s Lower East Side, by A.H. Fromenson, 1905,” in Jacob Marcus, ed., The Jew in the American World: A Source Book (Detroit, Mich.: Wayne State University Press, 1996), pp.375-380.

Thursday, October 28 (13 Heshvan): Zionism

· The following are all from Jacob Marcus, ed., The Jew in the American World: A Source Book (Detroit, Mich.: Wayne State University Press, 1996).

· “Anti-Zionism, Zionism, Aid to Jews in Distress: The Oneness of Jewry, 1897-1921,” pp.381-391. On print reserve in the book, The Jew in the American World. PP.381TOP OF P.389
· “Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948,” and “David Ben Gurion and Jacob Blaustein,” pp.486-494.

· Optional: “Mordecai M. Noah, Proto-Zionist, April 17, 1818,” 179-183.

Tuesday, November 2 (18 Heshvan): Fiddler on the Roof and American Jewish Identity

· screening of: Fiddler on the Roof (1971); starring Chaim Topol; set in the small Jewish village of Anatevka, Russia, in 1905. Part I to be viewed in class; the remainder to be viewed on your own in library reserves.

Thursday, November 4 (20 Heshvan): Fiddler on the Roof and American Jewish Identity

· Seth L. Wolitz. “The Americanization of Tevye or Boarding the Jewish Mayflower,” American Quarterly 40 (1988): 514-536.
· Optional: Sholem Aleichem (1859-1916). Hillel Halkin, trans. Tevye the Dairyman; and, the Railroad Stories (Yiddish title: Tevye der milkhiker). (New York: Schocken Books, 1987), pp.1-131. On hard-copy library reserves.

Tuesday, November 9 (25 Heshvan): Intermarriage and Conversion

· Malcolm H. Stern. “Jewish Marriage and Intermarriage in the Federal Period (1776-1840), American Jewish Archives 19:2 (November 1967): 142-43.
· Leo Hershkowitz and Isidore S. Meyer, eds. The Lee Max Friedman Collection of American Jewish Colonial Correspondence (Waltham, MA: American Jewish Historical Society, 1968), pp.1-6; 65-70; 75-77; 114; 116-119; 120-122; 124-25; 129.
· Howard E. Freeman and Gene G. Kassebaum. “Exogamous Dating in a Southern City,” Jewish Social Studies 18:1 (January 1956): 55-60.
· Bernard Lazerwitz. “Intermarriage and Conversion: A Guide for Future Research,” Jewish Journal of Sociology 13:1 (June 1971): 41-63.

Thursday, November 11 (27 Heshvan)
No class; campus-wide holiday: Veteran’s Day

Tuesday, November 16 (3 Kislev): Anti-Semitism: The Way it Used to Be

· Film review #1 due: Fiddler on the Roof
· Leonard Dinnerstein. “Anti-Semitism.” The Oxford Companion to United States History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), pp.42-43.
· John Higham. “Social Discrimination Against Jews in America, 1830-1930,” Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society 47:1 (September 1957): 1-33.

Thursday, November 18 (5 Kislev): Anti-Semitism on the Screen

· Film: “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1947); starring Gregory Peck; A New York-based reporter pretends to be a Jew in order to write an effective feature article on anti-Semitism.
· Irwin C. Rosen. “The Effect of the Motion Picture “Gentleman’s Agreement” on Attitudes Toward Jews,” Journal of Psychology 26 (October 1948): 525-536.

Monday, November 22 (9 Kislev): Southern Jews: Male Perspectives
Class WILL meet: Thursday class schedule will be followed

· Eli N. Evans. The Lonely Days were Sundays: Reflections of a Jewish Southerner (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1993), selections. Students are strongly encouraged to read the entire book, though only the pages to be assigned in class are mandatory.

Tuesday, November 23 (10 Kislev): Jews in the Civil Rights Movement

· Film review #2 due: Gentleman’s Agreement
· Inge Lederer Gibel. “The Negro-Jewish Scene: A Personal View,” Judaism 14:1 (Winter 1965), 12-21.
· P. Allen Krause. “Rabbis and Negro Rights in the South, 1954-1967,” American Jewish Archives 21:1 (April 1969): 20-47.

Thursday, November 25 (12 Kislev)
No class; Thanksgiving holiday (begins Wednesday, Nov. 24, after classes-Sunday, Nov.28)

Tuesday, November 30 (17 Kislev): The Holocaust and U.S. Jewish Identity

· Peter Novick. The Holocaust in American Life [electronic resource: accessible through the World Wide Web via UMass Library website, under title] (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999).
· Optional: Hilene Flanzbaum, ed. The Americanization of the Holocaust (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999) DELETE THIS COLLECTION

Thursday, December 2 (19 Kislev): Israel and U.S. Jewish Identity

· Matti Golan. Translated from the Hebrew by Hillel Halkin. With Friends like You: What Israelis Really Think about American Jews (New York: Free Press, 1992), pp. xi-xii, 51-106, 181-184.

Tuesday, December 7 (24 Kislev): American Jews Today

· “The Onset of the Twenty-First Century: The Future of the American Jew,” in Jacob Marcus, ed., The Jew in the American World: A Source Book (Detroit, Mich.: Wayne State University Press, 1996). pp.614-617.
· Jonathan Sarna. “Conclusion: American Judaism at a Crossroads,” in Jonathan Sarna, American Judaism: A History (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2004), 356-374 (footnotes: pp.419-421).

Thursday, December 9 (26 Kislev): Final Exam
Last day of this class; final exam will take the entire period

syllabus copyright Aviva Ben-Ur 2004