The Cambridge Companion to American Judaism
The Cambridge Companion to American Judaism
This volume provides readers with a comprehensive introduction to the most important and interesting historical and contemporary facets of Judaism in America. Written by twenty-four leading scholars from the fields of religious studies, American history and literature, philosophy, art history, sociology, and musicology, the book adopts an inclusive perspective on Jewish religious experience. Three initial chapters cover the development of Judaism in America from 1654, when Sephardic Jews first landed in New Amsterdam, until today. Subsequent chapters include cutting-edge scholarship and original ideas while remaining accessible at an introductory level. A secondary goal of this volume is to help its readers better understand the more abstract term of 'religion' in a Jewish context. The Cambridge Companion to American Judaism will be of interest not only to scholars but also to all readers interested in social and intellectual trends in the modern world.
- Provides the most comprehensive, up-to-date and intellectually challenging introduction to this growing field
- Avoids writing about American Judaism from a denominational perspective, preferring to view the subject as a whole
- Includes many distinguished contributors
Reviews & endorsements
'This Companion will both introduce newer readers to American Judaism and remind those familiar with the issues just how complex and topical they are. … Dana Evan Kaplan … has organized a perceptive and coherent series of chapters on American Judaism … They inform and never condescend. … changes and trends are mapped with scholarly intensity and stylistic clarity: this is not a pretentious or intimidating scholarly work, and accessibility and a zeal to tell it as it is pervades the Companion from start to finish. … Real value for money for the academic and private collection … [and] a useful portal to many other books and writers worth acquiring and reading …' Reference Reviews
'That said, American Judaism is an outstanding resource that is broad, introductory and accessible … It would serve as a superb reader for advanced undergraduate courses and will be a useful resource for both students and scholars.' Studies in Religion
Product details
November 2005Paperback
9780521529518
492 pages
228 × 152 × 27 mm
0.647kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction Dana Evan Kaplan
- 1. From preservation to innovation: Judaism in America, 1654–1880 Eli Faber
- 2. The reshaping of American Judaism, 1880–1945 Lloyd P. Gartner
- 3. Trends in American Judaism from 1945 to the present Dana Evan Kaplan
- 4. Denominationalism in American Judaism Lawrence Grossman
- 5. Patterns of American Jewish religious behavior Chaim Waxman
- 6. Thinking Judaism through: Jewish theology in America Byron L. Sherwin
- 7. The essence of American Judaism Charles Liebman
- 8. Contemporary Jewish education Isa Aron, Michael Zeldin and Sara Lee
- 9. The place of Judaism in American Jewish identity Debra Renee Kaufman
- 10. The Holocaust in Jewish American life Lynn Rapaport
- 11. Long distance nationalism: Zionism, Israel and American Jews Steve Rosenthal
- 12. Life cycle rituals: rites of passage in American Judaism Rela Mintz Geffen
- 13. Choosing lives: evolving gender roles in American Jewish families Sylvia Barack Fishman
- 14. The body and sexuality in American Jewish culture David Biale
- 15. The American Jewish urban experience Nathan Glazer
- 16. 'Sacred survival' revisited: American Jewish civil religion in the new millennium Jonathan Woocher
- 17. Judaism and democracy in America Alan Mittleman
- 18. The economics of American Judaism Carmel U. Chiswick
- 19. American Judaism and interfaith dialogue Yaakov Ariel
- 20. American midrash: urban Jewish writing and the reclaiming of Judaism Murray Baumgarten
- 21. Recent trends in new American Jewish music Mark Kligman
- 22. The visual arts in the American Jewish experience Matthew Baigell
- 23. Present and future tense: American Judaism in the 21st century Bruce Phillips
- Afterword Jonathan D. Sarna.
