A Rosenberg by any other name : a history of Jewish name changing in America / Kirsten Fermaglich.

Author
Fermaglich, Kirsten Lise [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
  • New York : New York University Press, [2018]
  • ©2018
Description
v, 245 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Availability

Available Online

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Firestone Library - Stacks CS3010 .F47 2018 Browse related items Request

    Details

    Subject(s)
    Series
    • Goldstein-Goren series in American Jewish history [More in this series]
    • The Goldstein-Goren series in American Jewish history
    Summary note
    Our thinking about Jewish name changing tends to focus on clichés: ambitious movie stars who adopted glamorous new names or insensitive Ellis Island officials who changed immigrants' names for them. But as Kirsten Fermaglich elegantly reveals, the real story is much more profound. Scratching below the surface, Fermaglich examines previously unexplored name change petitions to upend the clichés, revealing that in twentieth-century New York City, Jewish name changing was actually a broad-based and voluntary behavior: thousands of ordinary Jewish men, women, and children legally changed their names in order to respond to an upsurge of antisemitism. Rather than trying to escape their heritage or "pass" as non-Jewish, most name-changers remained active members of the Jewish community. While name changing allowed Jewish families to avoid antisemitism and achieve white middle-class status, the practice also created pain within families and became a stigmatized, forgotten aspect of American Jewish culture. This first history of name changing in the United States offers a previously unexplored window into American Jewish life throughout the twentieth century. A Rosenberg by Any Other Name demonstrates how historical debates about immigration, antisemitism and race, class mobility, gender and family, the boundaries of the Jewish community, and the power of government are reshaped when name changing becomes part of the conversation. -- Publisher's description.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references and index.
    Contents
    • Introduction : Sean Ferguson, Winona Ryder, and other Jewish names
    • Part I. The rise of Jewish name changing in New York City after World War I. "My name proved to be a great handicap" : developing a pattern of Jewish family name changing in the interwar years
    • "What's Uncle Sam's last name?" : the impact of World War II on Jews and name changing
    • Part II. Responses to Jewish name changing after World War II. "I changed my name" : cultural debates over name changing, passing, and Jewish identity in the postwar era
    • "Have you been known by another name?" : name changing and the politics of postwar Civil Rights legislation
    • Part III. The decline of Jewish name changing in the 1960s and beyond. "My resentment of arbitrary authority" : the decline and erasure of name changing in American Jewish society
    • "Not everyone is prepared to remake themselves" : Jews and other name changers in the 21st century
    • Epilogue.
    Other title(s)
    History of Jewish name changing in America
    ISBN
    • 9781479867202 ((cloth ; : alkaline paper))
    • 1479867209 ((cloth ; : alkaline paper))
    LCCN
    2018012205
    OCLC
    1029772069
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