Jews in America: Insiders and Outsiders

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Jonathan Lightman

 

October 13, 20, 27
November 3, 10, 17

December 1, 8, 15, 22

Class runs from 7:00-8:30 pm PT. We sign on at 6:45 pm to share our own Jewish journeys.

All courses require a minimum number of learners to proceed.

Experience Melton's version of a Jewish-American “Stuff You Missed in History Class”! In 10 engaging sessions, learners will discuss such seminal developments in American life as the Jewish contributions to American culture, American literature, and the Civil Rights Movement, all through the lens of Jews straddling their status as both insiders and outsiders. The course will also examine antisemitism, the Holocaust, and the changing place of Zionism in the shaping of Jewish American identity. Sharing tales from immigrants, their children, and grandchildren, learners will debate the meaning of this ongoing saga.

Table of Contents
Lesson 1 - Timeline of American Judaism
Lesson 2 - The Three-Generation Hypothesis: Immigrants, Their Children, and Grandchildren
Lesson 3 - Jewish Commitments Enriched and Weakened
Lesson 4 - General Education, Jewish Education, and Jewish Americanization
Lesson 5 - Jews as Creators of American Culture
Lesson 6 - Anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, and American-Jewish Self-Understanding
Lesson 7 - Zionism and the State of Israel Through the Eyes of American Jewry
Lesson 8 - More American Than Americans
Lesson 9 - American Jewish Fiction
Lesson 10 - Is the American Jewish Cup Half-Empty or Half-Full?

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