Event
Feeling Jewish: Buying and Selling American Jewish NostalgiaPost an Event »
Contemporary Jewish Museum
June 15 - June 15, 2017Info
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http://thecjm.org/
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(415) 655-7800
Nostalgia, a sentimental longing a for past that cannot be recovered, is a powerful theme in twenty-first-century American Jewish culture that is communicated through what American Jews make, buy, and sell. This talk by Dr. Rachel B. Gross, the John and Marcia Goldman Chair in American Jewish Studies in the Department of Jewish Studies at San Francisco State, examines how American Jews represent eastern European Jewish immigration history and connect to it emotionally through Jewish genealogy, visiting historic synagogues, buying children's books and dolls, and eating out at restaurants reimagining Ashkenazi cuisine. Through these commercial activities and others, contemporary American Jews express their longing for authentic Jewish pasts, build community in the present, and pass on their values to future generations. Professor Gross is a scholar in religious studies whose work focuses on the lives, spaces, and objects of twentieth-century and contemporary American Jews. She has published scholarly articles on Jews and food and is currently working on a manuscript, entitled "Objects of Affection: The Material Religion of American Jewish Nostalgia." Professor Gross received her PhD in Religion from Princeton University. This lecture, following Professor Gross’ first academic year in San Francisco, introduces her to the public and to academic colleagues.