Sclar Beyond Stereotypes

American Jews and Sports
Erscheinungsjahr 2015
ISBN: 978-1-61249-356-5
Verlag: Purdue University Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 164 Seiten

Reihe: The Jewish Role in American Life: An Annual Review

In the decades after the Civil War, sports slowly gained a prominent position within American culture. This development provided Jews with opportunities to participate in one of the few American cultures not closed off to them. Jewish athleticism challenged anti-Semitic depictions of Jews supposed physical inferiority while helping to construct a modern American Jewish identity. An Americanization narrative emerged that connected Jewish athleticism with full acceptance and integration into American society. This acceptance was not without struggle, but Jews succeeded and participated in the American sporting culture as athletes, coaches, owners, and fans.

The diversity of topics in this volume reflect that the field of the history of American Jews and sports is growing and has moved beyond the need to overcome the idea that Jews are simply People of the Book. The contributions to this volume paint a broad picture of Jewish participation in sports, with essays written by respected historians who have examined specific sports, individuals, leagues, cities, and the impact of sport on Judaism. Despite the continued belief that Jewish religious or cultural identity remains somehow distinct from the American idea of the athlete, the volume demonstrates that American Jews have had a tremendous contribution to American sports and conversely, that sports have helped construct American Jewish culture and identity.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Sclar, Ari F.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

FOREWORD

EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION, by Ari F. Sclar, Guest Editor

A Stack of Jewish Baseball Cards: Some Thoughts on Jews and the Roles They Have Played in the Major Leagues, by Joseph Dorinson

Racial Attitudes towards Jews in the “Negro Leagues”: The Case of Effa Manley, by Rebecca Alpert

American Jewish Women on the Court: Seeking an Identity in Tennis in the Early Decades of the Twentieth Century, by Linda J. Borish

Answering to a Different Authority in Sports: The Trials of Coach Jonathan Halpert and the Limits of Yeshiva University’s Athletic Success in Basketball, by Jeffrey S. Gurock

“The Disadvantage Far Outweighs the Benefits”: How the Rise and Fall of “the Jewish Game” at the 92nd Street YMHA Exemplified Jewish Conceptions of Athleticism, by Ari F. Sclar

From Suburbanites to Sabras and Back: How Jewish Americans Established Lacross in Israel, by Neil Kramer

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS 143

ABOUT THE USC CASDEN INSTITUTE 147

Über Autor(innen)

Ari F. Sclar teaches at the Ramaz Upper School in New York City and is an adjunct professor in the History Department at Hunter College. He has a doctoral degree in American History from Stony Brook University and his dissertation examined basketballs impact on American Jewish culture and identity in the first half of the twentieth century. He previously served as the Director of Content of the Jews in Sports Online web site, first at New York University and then at the American Jewish Historical Society.