The (trans)formation of American Jews: Jewish social studies in progressive American Jewish schools, 1910--1940

This dissertation discusses the ways in which the curriculum of American Jewish schools was both a manifestation of, and a reaction to, Jewish accommodation to American society in the early twentieth century (1910-1940). The study begins by tracing the development of the modern American Jewish education enterprise, focusing on the efforts of progressive Jewish educational reformers to correlate patterns of Jewish schooling with archetypes in American schooling. More than any other component of the Jewish school program, the Jewish social studies curriculum---which is defined, for the purposes of this study, as instruction in Jewish history, civilization, community, and culture---represented a uniquely American-Jewish construct. Jewish educators modeled Jewish social studies curricula along the lines of progressive education, social education, and citizenship education in public schools, and conceptualized the teaching of Jewish social studies as a form of education for effective citizenship in the American Jewish community. Just as social education in American schools was intended to develop among students a positive disposition towards the nation's values, customs, and mores, a loyalty towards its heritage and institutions, and an interest in participating in civic life, so too was the aim of Jewish social studies to inspire in Jewish children an appreciation of Jewish life and a willingness to play an active role, as Jews, in American society.;This analysis of the Jewish social studies curriculum contributes to our broader understanding of the historical role social studies education has played in transmitting or even transforming group culture on the American scene. For progressive Jewish educators, the Jewish social studies was not merely about self-preservation and ethnic distinctiveness; rather, it was about adjusting to American life as self-identified members of an immigrant, ethnic, religious minority group. Just how "Jewish" and how "American" American Jews should be was the source of contention among the stakeholders in American Jewish schools, including educators, community leaders, parents, and students. In the end, progressive Jewish educators hoped that supplementary Jewish schools, working in tandem with American public schools, would fashion the "American-Jewish" type---that is, someone who is comfortable operating within two civilizations simultaneously and harmoniously.