In this course we will explore the history of Jewish labor activism in the United States and its relationship to Yiddish culture. We will engage questions such as: How did Jewish Socialists and Communists relate to their Jewish identity? How did they think about Americanization and assimilation? What role did Yiddish culture play in Socialist and Communist organizing? How did Jewish identity and Yiddish culture interact with broader efforts toward anti-racism and multiculturalism? And how does this history help us navigate the present of Jewish and Anti-racist organizing work?
Beginning with the early Jewish labor movement in the 1880s and ending with New Left activism of the 1960s, this four session course will take us through the salient turning points of Jewish labor history in the United States and how Jews navigated these pressing questions of identity, community, and social justice at different historical moments.
- Session #1: 1880s-1905 – Yiddish culture and its place in the Socialist movement
- Session #2: 1905-1920 – “Linke versus rekhte”: the changing dynamics of the Jewish left in the wake of the Russian Revolution
- Session #3: 1920s-1930s – Anti-racist organizing on the Jewish Left and the issue of “white chauvinism”
- Session #4: 1940s-1960s – Generational change and the challenge of Americanization
All sessions will be recorded and made available to registrants. The course is conducted in English; no Yiddish language skills are necessary.
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