Stroum Lectures 2022: Does the United States Have a Jewish Question?

In the United States, there is no “Jewish Question” - such is the foundational claim of American Jewish history. An entire field of study is premised on the assumption American Jews gained full legal recognition as individuals, becoming liberal subjects like any other, free to exercise the full rights and protections of citizenship. Yet as Berman argues in these two lectures, this foundational claim has been more a matter of faith and aspiration than fact.
By exploring the history of Jews’ legal personhood in the United States, from their citizenship and civil status to the collective categories into which courts attempted to slot them, Berman exposes a persistent, if changing, “Jewish Question.” As such, she suggests that a better foundation for American Jewish history would be the recognition of the Jewish Question as among the foundational elements - and flaws - of American liberalism.