Jewish Charlatans, Crooks, and Weirdos

Jewish History is largely about elites and the cultures they produce. In other words, businessmen, scholars, rabbis, artists, scientists, and their ilk have long been the major focus of Jewish historians. The two-fold reason for this is firstly aspirational and, secondly, a desire to prove our value to an often doubting world. But what would we find if we looked at the other end of the spectrum, at the bottom of the Jewish barrel, where the dregs and the ne’er do wells of Jewish society do their business? Though criminals and imbeciles are not the typical subjects for historical research, it is a disservice not to include the lowest echelons of society in the historical record. Moreover, their lives were often rich in Jewish culture in spite of their unusual circumstances. This class will present an overview of the underbelly of Jewish society during the late 19th and early 20th century, including some of its most colorful characters.

Required Reading:

Bad Rabbi: And Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press
This book will be available for purchase on the first day of class.

Eddy Portnoy received his Ph.D. from the Jewish Theological Seminary. His dissertation was on cartoons of the Yiddish press. He also holds an M.A in Yiddish Studies from Columbia, having written on artists/writers Zuni Maud and Yosl Cutler. His articles on Jewish popular culture phenomena have appeared in The Drama Review, Polin, and The International Journal of Comic Art. In addition to speaking on Jewish popular culture throughout Europe and North America, he has consulted on museum exhibits at the Museum of the City of New York, Musée d'art et d'histoire du judaïsme in Paris, and the Joods Historisch Museum in Amsterdam. He is Senior Researcher & Exhibition Curator at YIVO, as well as YIVO’s Academic Advisor for the Max Weinreich Center.

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