Active and informed discussion throughout the semester.

Transcription

1 1 The History of the Jews of the United States of America JST 225 SPRING 2008 Instructor: Erik Greenberg Office Hours: Mon & Wed. By Appointment Introduction The purpose of this course is to explore the 353 year history of American Jewry. We will first attempt to understand broad definitional categories such as Jews and Jewishness, certain variants of democracy, as well as other ideas and terms relating to Jewish and American history and identity. We will then explore the history and historiography of American Jewry, developing a broad chronological overview while paying close attention to specific historical moments and certain milestones in the writing of American Jewish history. Upon completion of this course students should: Possess a broad knowledge of American History Gain a deeper appreciation for an historical understanding of Jewish identity in America and the world. Be able to identify within the American narrative specific events and movements of significance to the American-Jewish community. Be able to identify prominent American Jews and articulate their significance to the history of America and American Jewry. Comprehend the subjectivity of the study of history, and be able to identify the goals and projects of prominent American-Jewish historians. Throughout your academic career you have encountered history teachers that expect you to memorize historic facts and then spit them out onto a sheet of paper. This is not one of those classes. History is a discussion between the present and the past, an attempt to understand why an historic event happened through the lens of today s societal zeitgeist. Those of you that have siblings, think of a time when you got into trouble because of something your brother or sister did. Now try to interpret the same event looking at it from your sibling s point of view. Trying to make sense of those two wildly different perspectives is, in fact, the study of history. Course Requirements When we come to class we do so to form a community of scholars who explore historical phenomena. Our success in achieving this goal depends, to a great extent, on your active participation in both our discussions and in your written work. Our success as a group will help you succeed individually. To insure your successful completion of this course you must fulfill the following course requirements: Regular attendance as well as on time arrival to class. Three unexcused absences will result in a 20% deduction (APPROXIMATELY TWO FULL LETTER GRADES) from your final grade. As well, if you are routinely late for my class I will deduct a significant amount of points from your class participation grade. o Naturally I do expect that there are certain circumstances which might preclude you from attending class. If you are sick and have a note from a doctor, or if you experience the loss or serious illness of a loved one (again with a verifiable note) I will excuse you from that day s section. Nevertheless you must make up the lost class time through a written assignment. Successful completion of all assigned readings prior to class Please note that I will give you a series of study questions for the week s reading. While these questions will not represent the entirety of our discussion, they will help guide you through the reading. In particular, you should write down page numbers that correspond to these questions so that you can cite the texts in class. Active and informed discussion throughout the semester.

2 2 Completing and submitting any oral presentations and written assignments on time The successful completion of any pop quizzes or take home assignments not currently listed on our syllabus. Polite and respectful treatment of your fellow students and your instructor. This means, among other things, not interrupting other students or your instructor, and respectfully listening to all opinions (even those that you disagree with). Considering my limited time on campus, is an essential tool in this class. Please make sure that I have an accurate I will use that address unless you tell me otherwise. Also, make sure to check your Junk File frequently. Microsoft and other programs like to store s to large groups (like a class for example) in the junk folder. Grading The study of history requires reading, thinking, writing and speaking. In order to develop a thoughtful understanding of the past you must first study it by reading primary and secondary materials. After you ve completed your reading you must assess the materials through critical thought, and after thinking about the readings for some period of time you must present your opinions and findings through writing and discussion. Your grade in this class will reflect your efforts in these four disciplines. While I cannot stand over you and confirm that you ve read the assigned materials, and I cannot sneak inside your brain and watch you think about them, I can assess your knowledge of the material, and the time given to study, through your performance in in-class discussions and your writing assignments. The following is a break down of the grading system: General In Class Participation In class Presentation First Paper (Due Week 7) 3-5 pages Second Paper (Due Week 11) 3-5-pages Third Paper (Due Final Week) 5-7 pages Total 40 Points So be sure to come to class! 20 Points 45 Points 45 Points 50 Points 200 Points Points to Grade Breakdown A Points B Points C Points D Points F 119 Points and Below Books I will generally require you to read a number of works each week offering a variety of perspectives on a given topic. Consequently, much of your reading will consist of downloaded articles or handouts. Still, the recent 350 th anniversary of the Jewish presence in America has led to two significant texts which demand a closer reading. You

3 3 are required to purchase both the and books, the American history textbook is optional.. Please see below. Required, Jonathan, American Judaism: A History Yale University Press (October 24, 2005), Hasia, The Jews of the United States, , University of California Press; New Ed edition (May 30, 2006) Optional Ayers, Gould, et. al., American Passages: A History of the United States, Vols. I & II (any edition) Week 1 January 23 rd Introductions Readings and Assignments Week 2 Jewish American and American Historiographies: January 28 th Jacob Rader Marcus o The Periodization of American Jewish History, in Studies In Jewish American History: Studies and Addresses By Jacob R. Marcus o "America: The Spiritual Center of American Jewry" in American Jewish History: Jacob Marcus Rader's Essays on American Jewry Salo Baron o American Jewish History: Problems and Methods Oscar Handlin o Hasia o Introduction, 1-9 Our Unknown American Ancestors Jonathan o Introduction, xiii-xx January 30 th Hector St. John De Crevecoeur o What is An American? Frederick Jackson Turner o The Significance of the Frontier in American Life Joyce Appleby o Recovering America s Historic Diversity: Beyond Exceptionalism Oscar Handlin o Introduction The Uprooted: The Epic Story of the Great Migration That Made the American People, 1-6 Week 3The American Colonial Project and the Jews of Colonial America February 4 th The First presentations (on Colonial America) will be held on Monday followed by a lecture. February 6 th o 15-20, o 1-8, 12-20

4 4 Pencack File Download o o Week 4 The Revolution and the Early Republic: The Early Democratization of American Jewry February 11 th The Second presentations (on the American Revolution, the Constitution, Federalism, and Jeffersonian Democracy) will be held on Monday followed by a lecture. February 13 th o o o Pencack File Download o 1-13 o Excerpts of Declaration of Independence o o Correspondence between the Jews of Newport and Washington Week 5: The Market Revolution and Jacksonian America: The Marketplace of Religious Ideas and Jewish Responses to Anti-Semitism, Circa 1820s-1860s February 18 th PRESIDENTS DAY NO CLASSES February 20 th o 60-91, File Download o The American Response to 19 th Century Christian Missionaries David A. Gerber, File Download o Cutting Out Shylock: Elite Anti-Semitism and the Quest for Moral Order in the Mid 19 th Century American Market Place. o Mordecai Noah and the Idea of Universal Jewish Unity Week 6: The Conquest of the West and Westward Expansion: Jews and Western Diversity. Also The Relative Absence of an American-Jewish Historiography of the West. February 25 th I WILL HAND OUT PAPER TOPICS. AT THE END OF CLASS. PAPERS ARE DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5 TH AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS. The Third Presentations (Where is the West? Western Expansion, War in the West, Exploration of the West, Mining Booms, Land Booms) will be held on Monday followed by a lecture. February 27 th

5 5 Richard White File Download o It s Your Misfortune and None of My Own: A New History of the American West, Chapters 3 & 8 Ava Kahn and Ellen Eisenberg File Download o Western Reality: Jewish Diversity During the German Period Steven M. Avella File Download o Phelan s Cemetery: Religion in the Urbanizing West, , in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento Erik Greenberg File Download o A Historiography of the American Jewish West o Week 7: The Civil War: Internal Divisions in American Jewry March 3 rd The Fourth Presentations (Slave Compromises 3/5s rule, Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, Kansas Nebraska Act Bleeding Kansas, Sherman s March, Civil War Amendments, Reconstruction) will be held on Monday followed by a lecture. March 5 th, o Civil War Primary Sources File Download o Jew Hatred and General Grant, Week 8: The Turn of the Century and Industrial America March 10 th The Fifth presentations on (The Spanish American War, The Industrial Revolution, Marxism, Socialism, WW I, Woodrow Wilson, The League of Nations, The Treaty of Versailles, etc) will be held on Monday followed by a lecture. March 12 th Sean Dennis Cashman File Download o Industrial Spring John Milton Cooper File Download o Pivotal Decades: Alan Trachtenberg File Download o The Machine as Deity and Demon Paul Kennedy File Download o The United States as New Kid on the Block, Arthur S. Link File Download o Wilson an the War for Democracy

6 6 o , , , 294, , Week 9: A Century of Migration and A Century of Jewish Life in America: Readings and Discussion on Hasia s The Jews of the United States PLEASE NOTE THERE IS NO LECTURE OR PRESENTATIONS THIS WEEK. BOTH CLASSES WIILL BE SEMINAR DISCUSSIONS BASED ON THE FOLLOWING READINGS March 17 th o March 19 th o o Week 10: Two Worlds of American Judaism and An Anxious Subculture: Readings and Discussion on Jonathan s American Judaism PLEASE NOTE THERE IS NO LECTURE OR PRESENTATIONS THIS WEEK. BOTH CLASSES WIILL BE SEMINAR DISCUSSIONS BASED ON THE FOLLOWING READINGS March 24 th I WILL HAND OUT PAPER TOPICS. AT THE END OF CLASS. PAPERS ARE DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS ON MONDAY, MARCH 31 ST. o March 26 th o Week 11 The American Jewish Community During Tragedy and Triumph: The Interwar Years, WWII and the Holocaust, & Israel March 31 st The Sixth presentations on (The Immigration Act of 1924, The Ku Klux Klan, the Roaring Twenties, The Great Depression, The New Deal, WW II, The Holocaust, etc.) will be held on Monday followed by a lecture.

7 7 April 2 nd o Father Coughlin Audio Download o Persecution and Christianity Henry Ford File Download o Excerpts from The International Jew Charles Lindbergh File Download o September 11, 1941 Speech o Week 12 The Golden Cities: The Consumer Society and the Jewish Spread to the South and West April 7 th The 7 th presentations (on the Consumer Society, the Sunbelt, Levittown and other suburbs, The Organization Man, etc.) well be held on Monday followed by a lecture. April 9 th o , Excerpts From Deborah Dash Moore s To the Golden Cities File Download o Week 13 Faith and Activism: Jewish Responses to Modern Spirituality and Societal Inequity April 14 th The 8 th presentations (on the Civil Rights Movement, The March on Washington, Vietnam War and Protests, etc.) will be held on Monday followed by a lecture. April 16 th o , o SPRING BREAK FROM APRIL 21 ST -APRIL 29 TH HAG SAMEACH!!!!!!

8 8 Week 14 Religion in the Golden Cities April 30 th I WILL HAND OUT THE FINAL PAPER TOPICS. AT THE END OF CLASS. PAPERS ARE DUE ON MAY 16 TH AT 1PM PLACE TBD Moore File Download o Jody Myers File Download o Popular Kabbalah and New Religious Movement Research Yaakov Ariel File Download o Hassidism in the Age of Aquarius: The House of Love and Prayer in San Francisco, Week 15 Conclusions PLEASE NOTE THERE IS NO LECTURE OR PRESENTATIONS THIS WEEK. BOTH CLASSES WIILL BE SEMINAR DISCUSSIONS BASED ON THE FOLLOWING READINGS May 5 th o May 7 th o