This course is an exploration of the history of Jewish people in the United States in which the question of the relations of Jews to the dominant Christian culture is the organizing theme. Many topics will be considered within this framework including the history of immigration, Jews in the economy and labor force, popular culture, diversity and divisions among Jews, American Jews and Zionism, liberalism, socialism, Communism, the Democratic Party, and, more recently, political conservatism, the evolution of American Judaism, the meaning of Israel and the Holocaust for American Jews, Jews and other minorities, and intermarriage. Readings will include primary documents and films as well as historical studies. |