NEJS 160a THE MAKING OF THE AMERICAN JEW Fall 1997 Jonathan D. Sarna, Lown 308, x 2977, e-mail:Sarna@Binah.cc.Brandeis.edu Course Requirements: (1) Assigned Reading; (2) Midterm book report - due October 8, 1997; (3) Research Paper - one page prospectus due September 25; draft for first reading (optional) due November 13; paper due November 24th; (4) Final Exam Note: Regular attendance at lectures and at sections is necessary to obtain a good grade in this course. Attendance and participation in section will count for 10% of the grade. Grading Scale: Attendance and participation - 10%; midterm - 20%; lower of research paper & final - 30%; higher of research paper and final - 40% Attention: If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately. Major Texts (available for purchase in bookstore): Jonathan D. Sarna, The American Jewish Experience [=AJE], 2nd edition, 1997 Howard M. Sachar, A History of the Jews In America (1992) [=Sachar] Jacob R. Marcus, The Jew in the American World (1996) [=Marcus] ************************************************ David Wyman, The Abandonment of the Jews (1984) - for week 11 Lance Sussman, Isaac Leeser (1995) - possible book report book [not required] Mary Antin, The Promised Land; Rose Cohen, Out of the Shadow; J.S.Rikoon (ed.) Rachel Calof’s Story - possible research project [not required] Midterm Book Report and Required Research Paper See attached assignment sheets Required Reading All books and articles should be on reserve. Readings are also available (but not on reserve) at the library of the American Jewish Historical Society on our campus [near E-Lot & Heller School]. For additional bibliography, see Sarna, AJE; Modern Judaism, 10 (1990), pp. 343-365; and B.Holtz (ed.) The Schocken Guide of Jewish Books (1992), pp.108-127. I. 8/28 Background to American Jewish History Yosef Kaplan, "The Sephardim in North-Western Europe and the New World," The Sephardi Legacy, ed. H. Beinart (Jerusalem 1992), II, 240-287 J.R.Marcus, "The Periodization of American Jewish History," in Marcus, Studies in American Jewish History, pp.3-14. Sarna, AJE, introduction II. 9/3 Colonial American Jewry Jacob R. Marcus, "The American Colonial Jew" in Sarna, AJE. Sachar, 9-23 Marcus, 25-89 D.G.Daniels, "Colonial Jewry: Religion, Domestic and Social Relations," American Jewish Historical Q. 66 (March 1977), pp.375-400. [optional] Robert Cohen, "The Demography of the Jews in Early America," in Paul Ritterband (ed.) Modern Jewish Fertility (1981) [optional] III. 9/8 The Revolution and Its Impact J.D.Sarna, "The Impact of the American Revolution," Sarna, AJE Sachar, 23-37. Marcus, 93-104, 108-110, 142-43 Richard Morris, "The Role of the Jew in the American Revolution in Historical Perspective," in G. Rosen, Jewish Life in America (1987), pp.8-27. [optional] S.Chyet, "The Political Rights of the Jews in the United States," American Jewish Archives 10 (April 1958), 14-75. [optional] E.Eitches, "Maryland’s Jew Bill," American Jewish Historical Q. 60 (March 1971), pp.258-280. [optional] Note: First section meeting is on September 11th IV.9/15 The Early National Period M.Stern, "The 1820s" in Sarna, AJE Lou Silberman, American Impact: Judaism in the United States in the Early Nineteenth Century [also in A.L.Jamison, Tradition and Change in Jewish Experience (1978).] Marcus, 136-38, 145-146, 157-160, 171-175, 177-184 Robert Liberles, "Conflicts over Reforms" in Jack Wertheimer, The American Synagogue, pp.274-296 [optional]. Leon Jick, The Americanization of the Synagogue, pp.15-27 [optional] V. 9/22 Central European Immigration Rohrbacher and Meyer in Sarna, AJE A.Barkai, "German-Jewish Migrations in the 19th Century," Leo Baeck Institute Year Book 30 (1985), pp.301-318. Sachar, 38-71 Marcus, 190-195 Jick, The Americanization of the Synagogue, pp.28-194 [optional] S. Nadel, "Jewish Race and German Soul in 19th Century America," American Jewish History 78 (April 1987), pp.6-26 [optional] Note that one page prospectus on research paper is due September 25th. VI. 9/29 The Civil War Sachar, 72-80 Marcus, 196-202 B.W.Korn, American Jewry and the Civil War [optional] Eli Evans, Judah P. Benjamin [optional] VII.10/6 The Golden Age of German Jewry Cohen and Supple in Sarna, AJE. Sachar, 81-115 Marcus, 219-227, 238-241 [remainder of pp.203-294 optional] Note that midterm book report is due on October 9th. VIII, IX. 10/13,20 East European Jewish Immigration Dwork, Rischin, Hyman, Heinze, and Dawidowicz in Sarna, AJE Sachar, 116-238 Marcus, 332-39, 353-54, 375-80 [rest of pp. 296-392 is optional] Note that October 15 is University Thursday X. 10/27 From World War One to World War Two Ribuffo, Gurock, Joselit, Urofsky and Gartner in Sarna, AJE Sachar, 238-464 Marcus, 408-409 [other pages optional] XI. 11/3 American Jews and the Holocaust 1. Henry L. Feingold, "Who Shall Bear Guilt for the Holocaust," Sarna, AJE, pp.239-258. 2. David Wyman, The Abandonment of the Jews XII.11/10 Postwar American Jewish Life 1945-1967 Goren, Moore, Wertheimer in Sarna, AJE. Sachar, 563-787 Marcus, 489-94 11/17 Postwar American Jewish Life 1967-1997 Sachar, 788-933 S.B.Fishman and J. Wertheimer in American Jewish Year Book 89 (1989), pp.3-162. 11/24 The Future of the American Jew Hertzberg in Sarna, AJE Marcus, 614-617 Note that Research Papers are due on November 24th. Note that November 25th is Brandeis Thursday; sections meet. MIDTERM BOOK REPORT Due October 8, 1997 Read and review (ca. 5 pp.) any book dealing with American Jewish life prior to 1881. A list of books follows. Note that Lance Sussman’s Isaac Leeser is available in paperback and is on sale at the bookstore. Your review should (1) summarize the narrative and central arguments of the book (its thesis, content and scope); and (2) evaluate the book based on published book reviews and/or comparisons with other sources (like the textbooks for this course), as well as your own informed opinion concerning the book’s credibility and style. WARNING: These books are not on reserve, and are therefore available on a first-come, first-served basis from the library. Do not wait until the last minute to select your book. If you are interested in reviewing a book that is not on the list, you may want to check with the instructor to ensure that it is suitable. Biographies Dianne Ashton, REBECCA GRATZ David Black, THE KING OF FIFTH AVENUE…AUGUST BELMONT Eli N. Evans, JUDAH P. BENJAMIN James G. Heller, ISAAC M. WISE Jonathan D. Sarna, JACKSONIAN JEW: THE TWO WORLDS OF MORDECAI M. NOAH H. Scharfman, THE FIRST RABBI [ABRAHAM RICE] Lance Sussman, ISAAC LEESER Sefton Temkin, ISAAC M. WISE Maxwell Whiteman, COPPER FOR AMERICA: THE HENDRICKS FAMILY Gary P. Zola, ISAAC HARBY Memoirs E. Ashkenazi (ed.), THE CIVIL WAR DIARY OF CLARA SOLOMON J.R.Marcus, MEMOIRS OF AMERICAN JEWS (any volume) I.M. Wise, REMINISCENCES M. Young (ed.) LAST ORDER OF THE LOST CAUSE [R.J.Moses memoir] Community Studies E. Ashkenazi, THE BUSINESS OF JEWS IN LOUISIANA, 1840-1875 H.Grinstein, THE RISE OF THE JEWISH COMMUITY OF NEW YORK J.W.Hagy, THIS HAPPY LAND: THE JEWS OF COLONIAL AND ANTEBELLUM CHARLESTON B.W.Korn, THE EARLY JEWS OF NEW ORLEANS E. Wolf and M. Whiteman, THE HISTORY OF THE JEWS OF PHILADELPHIA Period Studies Avraham Barkai, BRANCHING OUT: GERMAN-JEWISH IMMIGRATION TO THE US Naomi W. Cohen, ENCOUNTER WITH EMANCIPATION: THE GERMAN JEWS IN THE US Hasia Diner, A TIME FOR GATHERING: THE SECOND MIGRATION B.W.Korn, AMERICAN JEWRY AND THE CIVIL WAR J.R.Marcus, THE COLONIAL AMERICAN JEW Samuel Rezneck, UNRECOGNIZED PATRIOTS [ on Jews and Revolutionary War] Topical Studies Stephen Birmingham, OUR CROWD Moshe Davis, THE EMERGENCE OF CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM Leon Jick, THE AMERICANIZATION OF THE SYNAGOGUE RESEARCH PAPER Select one of the following research projects. Students with limited library time available to them should probably select option #1. You must report your choice, in writing, by September 25. Students selecting options 2ff. Should provide greater detail concerning what they plan to research, the questions they plan to ask, and the sources that they plan to consult. Students may submit a draft of their paper to their TA by November 13th if they want preliminary comments. Research papers are due on November 24th. Option #1 - compare and contrast the immigrant experiences of three East European Jewish women as recounted in their memoirs: Mary Antin, THE PROMISED LAND; Rachel Calof, RACHEL CALOF’S STORY (ed. J.S.Rikoon); and Rose Cohen, OUT OF THE SHADOW. Make sure to explore issues of class, gender and geography. How did the experiences of these women differ one from another and also from the experiences of comparable men.. All three books are available in paperback from the bookstore. Option #2 - select any 1-2 year period and analyze, based on Jewish newspapers, periodicals, and other relevant primary sources the central conflicts in local, national, and/or international Jewish life at that time. What issues underlie these conflicts? Why do the individuals involved take the stances that they do? Use the collection of microfilmed American Jewish newspapers in the Brandeis University library, as well as other periodicals in the stacks or at the American Jewish Historical Society. Option #3 - Option #4 - Select a research project of your own choosing. The project must utilize primary sources, ask significant questions, and be doable in one semester. Students are advised to discuss these projects with their instructor. Approval of the one-page prospectus outlining the subject is essential. B