32411

(German-)Jewish Emigration to the USA (1848-1918)

Francesco Di Palma

Kommentar

(German-)Jewish Emigration to the USA (1848-1918) – National Belonging astride two Continents This course is an introduction to the key issues of (Geman)-Jewish emigration to the US from roughly 1848 until the end of WWI, and will allow students to connect social, political and cultural history of emigrated Jews to the experience of divided cultures and memories astride two continents. Within the framework of German politics and society over the “long 19th century”, this seminar examines the patterns of construction of national identity among Jewish minorities in the German states (from 1871 on in the German Reich), contextualizes its development against the background of massive migratory flows from the Old Continent to North America and assesses the impact this experience exerted on their renewed understanding of national belonging in the host country. With the end of WWI, the question of the national and cultural self-identification of Jewish migrants was by no means resolved. On the contrary, the conflict had blocked identity processes or presented them with new challenges, which eventually paved the way for the rise of Jewish nationalism. The readings and discussions will consider the structures of integration in the new homeland, the struggle towards recognition and cultural identity, the confrontation over religious traditions and national loyalties over at least four generations of Jewish men and women. Themes include, among others, the intersection of transatlantic relations and nation-rebuilding in the US (Civil War 1861-65) as well as in Germany (founding of German Reich 1871), their immediate impact on Jews in America, suburbanization, narratives of national identities as well as the rise of Zionism over the last quarter of the 19th century, and WWI. The course will be of primary interest to students of Modern European History, North American History, German History or Jewish Studies. Schließen