Postwar Stories: How Books Made Judaism American

Meet the Author event

Postwar Stories: How Books Made Judaism American

Guest speaker: Rachel Gordan

Before the Holocaust, Americans were accustomed to antisemitic tropes and images portrayed in popular culture. At that time, Judaism was a misunderstood religion, and consensus was that Jews were a racial group, and a harmful one at that. Post-World War II, two strands of ‘middlebrow’ literature emerged: 1940s anti-antisemitism publications, such as Gentleman’s Agreement, eventually an Academy Award-winning film; and 1940s and 50s “Introduction to Judaism” literature that helped reshape Americans’ understanding of Jews, antisemitism, and the place of Judaism in American culture and history.

Following the illustrated presentation, there will be book sales by Ben McNally Books and signings.

Join us in-person, on Zoom simulcast, or register to receive the recording.
Friday February 6

1:00-2:30pm

Admission: $12

For registration assistance, please call 416-924-6211 x0 or email help@mnjcc.org.

For more information, contact Lisa Roy at 416-924-6211 x6155 or email lisar@mnjcc.org.

Rachel Gordan is Assistant Professor of Religion and Jewish Studies and the Samuel “Bud” Shorstein Fellow in American Jewish Culture and Society at the University of Florida. A graduate of both Yale and Harvard, Rachel has published articles in The New York Times, the Forward, Tablet, and New York Jewish Week, as well as in academic journals including Jewish Quarterly Review. In 2024-2025, Rachel was a National Endowment for the Humanities fellow at the Center for Jewish History in New York. She is currently working on a biography of novelist Laura Z. Hobson. Postwar Stories: How Books Made Judaism American, published by Oxford University Press, is available for order here. For more information about Rachel, visit https://religion.ufl.edu/directory/rachel-gordan/