Full Description
Daniel Greene traces the emergence of the idea of cultural pluralism to the lived experiences of a group of Jewish college students and public intellectuals, including the philosopher Horace M. Kallen. These young Jews faced particular challenges as they sought to integrate themselves into the American academy and literary world of the early 20th century. At Harvard University, they founded an influential student organization known as the Menorah Association in 1906 and later the Menorah Journal, which became a leading voice of Jewish public opinion in the 1920s. In response to the idea that the American melting pot would erase all cultural differences, the Menorah Association advocated a pluralist America that would accommodate a thriving Jewish culture while bringing Jewishness into mainstream American life.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: "Kultur Klux Klan or Cultural Pluralism"
1. The Harvard Menorah Society and the Menorah Idea
2. The Intercollegiate Menorah Association and the "Jewish Invasion" of American Colleges
3. Cultural Pluralism and Its Critics
4. Jewish Studies in an American Setting
5. A Pluralist History and Culture
6. Pluralism in Fiction
Epilogue: "The Promise of the Menorah Idea"
Notes
Bibliography
Index
