Jews in the gym : Judaism, sports, and athletics / editor, Leonard J. Greenspoon.

Format:

Book

Conference/Event

Contributor:

Greenspoon, Leonard J. (Leonard Jay)

Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization.

University of Nebraska--Lincoln. Harris Center for Judaic Studies.

Conference Name:

Klutznick-Harris Symposium (23rd : 2010 : Omaha, Neb.)

Series:

Studies in Jewish civilization ; v. 23.

Studies in Jewish civilization, 1070-8510 ; v.23

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jews--Sports--History.

Jews.

Jewish athletes--History.

Jewish athletes.

History.

Jews--Sports.

Physical Description:

xvi, 289 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Other Title:

Judaism, sports, and athletics

Place of Publication:

West Lafayette, Ind. : Purdue University Press, [2012]

Summary:

For some, the connection between Jews and athletics might seem far-fetched. But in fact, as is highlighted by the fourteen chapters in this collection, Jews have been participating in -- and thinking about -- sports for more than two thousand years. The articles in this volume scan a wide chronological range: from the Hellenistic period (first century BCE) to the most recent basketball season. The range of athletes covered is equally broad: from participants in Roman-style games to wrestlers, boxers, fencers, baseball players, and basketball stars. The authors of these essays, many of whom actively participate in athletics themselves, raise a number of intriguing questions, such as: What differing attitudes toward sports have Jews exhibited across periods and cultures? Is it possible to be a "good Jew" and a "great athlete"? In what sports have Jews excelled, and why? How have Jews overcome prejudices on the part of the general populace against a Jewish presence on the field or in the ring? In what ways has Jewish participation in sports aided, or failed to aid, the perception of Jews as "good Germans," "good Hungarians," "good Americans," and so forth? This volume, which features a number of illustrations (many of them quite rare), is not only accessible to the general reader, but also contains much information of interest to the scholar in Jewish studies, American studies, and sports history.

Contents:

Playing Roman in Jerusalem : Jewish attitudes toward sport and spectacle during the Second Temple period / Loren R. Spielman

Sports and the graphic novel from diaspora to diaspora : James Strum's The Golem's mighty swing and JT Waldman's Megillat Esther in the tree of contexts / Ori Z. Soltes

The Jew in the gym : Judaism, sports and athletics of film / Nathan Abrams

Is life a game? : athletic competition as a metaphor for the meaning of life / Steven J. Riekes

The Jewish athlete of faith : on the limits of sport / Danny Rosenburg

Antisemitism and sport in Central Europe and the United States c. 1870-1932 / Steven A. Riess

Cutting the way into the nation : Hungarian Jewish Olympians in the interwar era / Mihály Kálmán

Grappling with ghosts : Jewish wrestlers and antisemitism / William Kornblum, Erin Sodmiak, and Phil Oberlander

Spotting a nation : the origins of athleticism in modern Israel / Nina Spiegel

Gyms and the academy : professional and personal reflections on stepping up to the scholarly plate / Jeffrey S. Gurock

Jewish women in the American gym : basketball, ethnicity, and gender in the early twentieth century / Linda J. Borish

From Benny Leonard to Abi Olajuwon : Jews, Muslims, Evangelicals, and the evolving religious challenges of being an American athlete / Ori Z. Soltes

Buster Haywood and the Jews of Black baseball / Rebecca T. Alpert

A global game : Omri Casspi and the future of Jewish ballers / David J. Leonard.

Notes:

"Proceedings of the twenty-third annual symposium of the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization - Harris Center for Judaic Studies, October 24-25, 2010" -- P. [i].

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781557536297

1557536295

OCLC:

777628417