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Full text of this paper is not available in the ETD Center. Copies may be available for inter-library loan from University of Cincinnati or may be available for purchase from Proquest/UMI

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BALANCING ACTS: THE RE-INVENTION OF ETHNICITY IN JEWISH AMERICAN FICTION BEFORE 1930

Sol, Adam Howard
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin973712137

Abstract Details

2000, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences : English and Comparative Literature.
This dissertation explores the fiction written by Jewish American authors from 1896-1930. Drawing on Werner Sollors' ideas on the invention of ethnicity, and the work of historians like Gerald Sorin and Moses Rischin, this work argues that Jewish American writers of fiction from the first decades of the twentieth century participated in a re-invention of Jewish ethnicity for modern America. Writers such as Abraham Cahan, Anzia Yezierska, Sidney Nyburg, and Ludwig Lewisohn portray the discovery of new kinds of Jewish-ness for the modern world. All of these practices have their roots in one or another tradition within Judaism, but they would now serve as the central modes for a new Jewish ethnic identity. This literature helped define what being Jewish American meant at this period in history. Moreover, these re-inventions of Jewish ethnic identity have influenced all subsequent interpretations of American Jewishness to this day.
Stan Corkin (Advisor)
Literature, American
Jewish American Literature; American Literature 1900-1930; Jewish Literature; Ethnic Literature; Ethnicity

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sol, A. H. (2000). BALANCING ACTS: THE RE-INVENTION OF ETHNICITY IN JEWISH AMERICAN FICTION BEFORE 1930 [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin973712137

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sol, Adam. BALANCING ACTS: THE RE-INVENTION OF ETHNICITY IN JEWISH AMERICAN FICTION BEFORE 1930. 2000. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin973712137.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sol, Adam. "BALANCING ACTS: THE RE-INVENTION OF ETHNICITY IN JEWISH AMERICAN FICTION BEFORE 1930." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2000. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin973712137

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin973712137
© 2000, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.