Jews in the American Academy, 1900-1940: The Dynamics of Intellectual Assimilation (Judaic Traditions in Literature, Music, and Art) [Paperback]

Susanne Klingenstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1998 | Series: Judaic Traditions in Literature, Music, and Art

An account of the first Jewish professors of humanities in US universities. Tracing their experiences, it reveals how Ivy League colleges in the early 20th century opened their doors to Jewish intellectuals and indicates how this integration transformed the thinking of these Jewish professors.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

How Jewish scholars gradually won acceptance in the American academy is the theme of this lively composite portrait, originally a doctoral dissertation. Rebellious, "language-crazed" Leo Wiener (1862-1939), a Russian-born polyglot, "stuck out like a sore thumb" in Harvard's WASP community. Other Jewish academics remodeled themselves in the majority's image, feeling deeply alienated from their roots and from their parents. Morris Cohen (1880-1947), the "Jewish Socrates" of CCNY, as a self-proclaimed secularist embraced Enlightenment rationalism and denounced Zionism as "tribalism," but by 1939 had become much more sympathetic toward the Zionist cause and Judaism in general. Never completely assimilated, "young Lion" Lionel Trilling (1905-1977), interpreter of literature as a medium of moral concern, served as role model to a generation of Columbia students. Focusing on a dozen or so male scholars, the author, a lecturer at Harvard, shows how academia molded these men even as they broke down its exclusionist barriers. Photos.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

An absorbing study of American Jews who first broke the ``color line'' at the humanities faculties of Ivy League colleges. The Jewish Jackie Robinsons of this ``league'' were foreigners hired at Harvard for their linguistic abilities. They included men like Judah Monis (1683-1764), who was appointed instructor of Hebrew (then celebrated as the ``Mother Tongue'') suspiciously close to his conversion to Christianity, and the talented polyglot Leo Wiener (1862-1939), a Russian agnostic. Klingenstein is herself a foreign-born instructor at Harvard (and this book was her doctoral dissertation at the Univ. of Heidelberg), but her command of Jewish thought and learning seems vastly superior to that of any of her subjects here. Her insightful preface on Jewish concepts of freedom would likely sound unfamiliar to C.C.N.Y. philosophy professors Horace Kallen and Morris Cohen, and to Columbia men-of- letters like Ludwig Lewisohn and Lionel Trilling. According to Klingenstein, Lewisohn was less self-hating than other Jewish academics of his generation, but he clearly stated that he was only Jewish by ``name and physiognomy.'' Where Klingenstein cannot offer an authentic clash of cultures, her subjects engage in spirited debates, such as the ``Zionism is tribalism'' issue. Well written and researched--though more about socioeconomic than intellectual Jewish gains. (Twelve illustrations--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Syracuse Univ Pr (Sd); Syracuse Univ Press Ed., 1998 edition (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815605412
• ISBN-13: 978-0815605416
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,101,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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