Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... Embracing a Western identity : Jewish Oregonians, 1849-1950by Ellen Eisenberg
No tags None Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. No reviews no reviews | add a review
"Not all of Oregon's pioneers were Christian farmers or bachelor prospectors. Indeed, many of the first brick buildings on Oregon's newly platted Main Streets were built by Jewish merchants whose services were essential to town founding and growth. In Embracing a Western Identity, Ellen Eisenberg places Jewish history in the larger context of Western narratives, challenging the traditional view that the 'authentic' North American Jewish experience stems from New York. The westward paths of Jewish Oregonians and their experiences of place shaped the communities, institutions, and identities they created, distinguishing them from other American Jewish communities. Eisenberg traces the Oregon Jewish experience from its pioneer beginnings in the mid-nineteenth century to the highly concentrated Portland communities of the mid-twentieth century. Drawing on extensive archival resources at the Oregon Jewish Museum, this historical commentary explores patterns of migration and settlement, the place of Jews in the state's ethnic landscape, their engagement in politics, the development of institutions, and their relationship to Zionism. Departing from familiar treatments of the Jewish experience, Embracing a Western Identity provides a critical look at the impact of place and opportunity upon the identities of migrants both as Oregonians and as American Jews. Readers and scholars interested in Western history--religious, ethnic, expansionist, and otherwise--will enjoy Eisenberg's accessible writing style and rich photograph collection"-- No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNone
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)979.5History and Geography North America Great Basin and West Coast U.S. OregonLC ClassificationRatingAverage: No ratings.Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |