Due Tues., Sept. 9: Brief Paper #1

Find two articles dealing with the "city" or "urbanism" (you may also want to check terms such as "modernity" or "industrialization" whose definitions may include discussion of cities and urbanization) in two encyclopedia, respectively, and see how their authors define the issue.  One encyclopedia can be general (such as Encyclopedia Britannica), but the other must be specialized (that is to say, pertaining to a broad, albeit distinct subject area, such as International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Blackwell Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Social Thought, Encyclopedia Judaica, etc.). Prepare a 500-word treatment of the issues worth investigating on the subject, comparing and contrasting the ways in which the subject is presented in your two sources. Feel free to praise or criticize the approach that your sources used. At the end of your paper, list the search terms and methodology you used and list the number of "hits" you received for each kind of search (e.g. "encyclopedia" in "title," in "words everywhere," with "and [subject]," etc.).

Extra credit will be given to anyone able and willing to use at least one foreign language reference source (such as Brock Haus, Larousse, etc.).

Due Tues., Sept. 23: Bibliography

Research Proposal & Bibliography: Prepare a one-page bibliography on an aspect of Jewish urban life in Poland/Russia anytime before World War II.  (Sample topics might include the history of the Jews in a particular city, the economic life of Jews, Jews and non-Jews in the city, synagogues in large cities, etc.)  Your bibliography should include approximately ten items including both scholarly articles and books.  Make sure that you format your bibliography according to one of the accepted style manuals.  Introduce your bibliography with a brief paragraph outlining your theme, its importance, and what you expect to find through your research.

Due Thurs., Oct. 23: Brief Paper #2

Are photographs (and films) reliable historical sources? What are the advantages, strengths, and limits of photographic records as a source for Jewish urban history?  Answer these questions through a close analysis and comparison of pre-World War II images, at least one drawn from Eastern European Jewish life and at least one drawn from American Jewish immigrant life.  (Suggestion:  you might be well served looking at books by, and about, Jacob Riis.)  Compare your images in terms of what they emphasize and what they omit, how the photographer structured the image, etc.  Are your photos reliable historical sources?  Why?  Your paper should be approximately three pages.  If the images you use come from books, attach photocopies of the photos to your paper.  If they are from videos, try to describe as closely as possible where they occur in the video.

Due Tues., Nov. 11: Brief Paper #3

View the video "Crossing Delancey."  In a paper of approximately three pages, compare the images of Jewish urban life (and particularly the view of Jewish women) presented in the play, God of Vengeance, by Sholem Asch, the movie "Mamele," and this film.  Pay particular attention to the portrayal of the conditions of Jewish life, of Jews' occupations (and their resultant social status in the city), on the meaning of religion, and of the role and fate of women in these situations.  End your paper by considering why the various scripts differed so much in their portrayals of these issues.

Bibliographical references regarding Jews and Film

Due Thurs., Dec. 4: Final Paper

Present an analysis of one aspect of the current struggles over urban policy in Jerusalem.  Your paper should focus either on aspects of the Israeli/Palestinian question or the struggle between Haredim and more secular Israelis over control of the city.  Your presentation folder should include a) neat copies of relevant news articles you have collected over the semester from the Web, newspapers, magazines; b) a map of Jerusalem showing the contested areas you discuss; and c) a background analysis (5 - 6 pages) of the struggle you describe based on insights you have learned from the course, the news articles you found, and at least two scholarly books or journal articles.