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Spring 2008
Tu-Th, 1-2:15pm
112 White Hall
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Dr. Eric L. Goldstein
Office: 122 Bowden Hall
Phone: (404) 727-4470
E-mail: egoldst@emory.edu
Office hours: by appointment
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Course Description:
This course is a survey of the Jewish
experience in America, examining the religious, cultural, political,
and economic activities of American Jews from the colonial period
to the present. Students will explore the ways Jewish tradition has
adapted to America, how patterns of communal life have been transformed,
what the relationship of American Jews has been to other Americans
and to the international Jewish community, and how American Jewish
identities have been created from Jews' dual impulses for integration
and distinctiveness. We will also use the Jewish experience as a means
of evaluating different definitions of American national identity.
Texts:
The following texts are available for
purchase at the Emory Bookstore and are also on reserve at Woodruff
Library:
•Jonathan
D. Sarna, ed., The American Jewish Experience, 2nd edition (Holmes
and Meier, 1997).
• Rose Cohen, Out of the Shadow: A Russian Jewish Girlhood on
the Lower East Side (Cornell, 1995).
• Samuel C. Heilman, Portrait of American Jews: The Last Half
of the 20th Century (Univ. of Washington, 1995).
• Lisa Schiffman, Generation J (Harper San Francisco, 2000).
• Several articles on e-reserve through EUCLID (indicated on the
schedule of lectures and readings by an
asterisk*).
Course
Format and Requirements:
Class sessions will be a mixture of lecture
and discussion, with occasional sessions set aside for more in-depth discussion
of certain topics and analysis of primary sources. In addition to the
regular class meetings, there will also be a few films shown during evening
hours (see course schedule). These evening
screenings are considered class periods and attendance will be taken.
If you are unable to come for any reason you MUST discuss your conflict
with the professor in advance.
In
preparation for class discussion, students will be asked to answer a thought
question in one or two paragraphs before each session. On a few occasions during the semester, students will be ask to submit answers to the questions in the form of a short essay (2 pages). In addition,
there will be one longer "primary source"
writing assignment of no more than five pages in which students will
have to find and analyze a primary source bearing on the American Jewish
experience. There will be two examinations: an in-class midterm and a
final that has an in-class portion and a take-home portion. Class participation
is an important part of your grade, so please arrive ready to discuss
and analyze the readings.
Grading:
Grades for the course will be determined as follows:
Midterm:
25%
Final exam: 30%
Question response papers: 10%
Primary source writing assignment: 25%
Attendance and participation: 10%
Honor
Code:
Honor Code: All students
are expected to abide by Emory University's honor code, which prohibits
all forms of academic dishonesty including cheating and plagiarism. Plagiarism
means submitting material from a book, a website, or any other source
without acknowledging that the words or the ideas are someone else's.
When in doubt about this matter, please ask the instructor to explain
further, or consult the Emory
College Writing Center's "Avoiding Plagiarism" webpage.
I treat academic dishonesty as a serious offense and, in accordance with
the policies of Emory College, will immediately report all violations
of the honor code to the Honor Council.
Schedule of Lectures and Readings
Thought
Questions
Terms
to Study for the Midterm
Terms
to Study for the Final
Primary
Source Writing Assignment
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