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People of the Book: The Impact of Fiddler on the Roof, the Diary of Anne Frank and Leon Uris’ Exodus on American Jewish Life
Wednesday, February 20, 2019 @ 10:00 am - 11:30 am
An event every week that begins at 10:00 am on Wednesday, repeating until Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Wednesdays, February 20, 27, and March 6, 2019 @ 10:00am-11:30am (3 Sessions) in the Feuerstein Family Activity Center
Throughout the 20th century, American popular culture on screen and in print played an important role in shaping American Jewish life and identity.
Leon Uris’ Exodus, an epic tale of the founding of the State of Israel, offered a vision of Zionism that resonated with Americans. The class will explore its popularity and profound impact on American Jewish identity and American Zionism.
American popular culture also showed a renewed interest in Sholem Aleichem’s Fiddler on the Roof. What accounts for American Jewry’s lasting fascination for this work?
Anne Frank is the face of the Holocaust and her diary keeps us from forgetting. How did her dairy change how American Jews looked at the world and our place in it?
Each class will explore the impact of one of these works on American Jewish identity.
Dr. Joellyn Zollman holds a Ph.D. in Jewish history from Brandeis University; specializing in the American Jewish experience. She has taught classes on Jewish history at San Diego State University, UCSD and the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture. In 2018, Dr. Zollman curated the exhibition, “Celebrate San Diego! The History and Heritage of San Diego’s Jewish Community,” at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park.