The wonders of America : reinventing Jewish culture, 1880-1950 / Jenna Weissman Joselit.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Joselit, Jenna Weissman.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jews--United States--Social life and customs--20th century.

Jews.

Jews--Material culture--United States.

Jews--Material culture.

Manners and customs.

United States--Social life and customs--20th century.

United States.

Jews--Social life and customs.

Physical Description:

xi, 349 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Edition:

First Owl books edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : H. Holt, 2002.

Summary:

The selective relish with which most American Jews affirm their identity -- consuming kosher delicacies once a year, extravagantly celebrating the bar mitzvahs of their sons and the weddings of their daughters -- has usually given rise to satire or consternation. The Wonders of America offers an alternative perspective, for this pioneering social history of Jewish culture highlights the cultural ingenuity and adaptive genius of American Jewish life. Drawing on advertisements, etiquette manuals, sermons, and surveys, Jenna Weissman Joselit constructs a lively and humorous account of how three generations of American Jews created their distinctive American culture. This provocative, enlightening study describes the forging of a rich and exuberant modern Jewish identity and makes it clear that it is not the theoretical debates of rabbis and scholars but the small choices of daily life that shape and sustain a culture. -- from publisher description.

Notes:

"An Owl book."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

National Jewish Book Awards - Jewish History, Winner, 1995

ISBN:

0805070028

9780805070026

OCLC:

49225443

Online:

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description