Jews, Politics and Social Movements

Over the last century, social movements have challenged, shaken up and transformed American Jewish life. In this course, we will consider the influence of movements for civil rights, peace, feminism, Soviet Jewry, LGBTQ+ rights, and for Israel and Palestine. Throughout, our focus will be on the reciprocal influence of political and religious movements, and on the changing character of American Jewish life. Theoretical material will be drawn from the sociology of social movements, diaspora studies, and the sociology of religion. We will look at scholarly literature, films, and primary documents. Students will also conduct original research.