Notice bibliographique
- Notice
Type(s) de contenu et mode(s) de consultation : Texte noté. Image fixe. Image cartographique : sans médiation
Auteur(s) : Fermaglich, Kirsten Lise
Titre(s) : A Rosenberg by any other name [Texte imprimé] : a history of Jewish name changing in America / Kirsten Fermaglich
Publication : New York : New York University Press, copyright [2018]
Description matérielle : v, 245 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Collection : The Goldstein-Goren series in American Jewish history
Lien à la collection : The Goldstein-Goren series in American Jewish history
Note(s) : Includes bibliographical references (pages 195-235) and index
Our thinking about Jewish name changing tends to focus on clichés: ambitious movie
stars who adopted glamorous new names or insensitive Ellis Island officials who changed
immigrants' names for them. But as Kirsten Fermaglich elegantly reveals, the real
story is much more profound. Scratching below the surface, Fermaglich examines previously
unexplored name change petitions to upend the clichés, revealing that in twentieth-century
New York City, Jewish name changing was actually a broad-based and voluntary behavior:
thousands of ordinary Jewish men, women, and children legally changed their names
in order to respond to an upsurge of antisemitism. Rather than trying to escape their
heritage or "pass" as non-Jewish, most name-changers remained active members of the
Jewish community. While name changing allowed Jewish families to avoid antisemitism
and achieve white middle-class status, the practice also created pain within families
and became a stigmatized, forgotten aspect of American Jewish culture. This first
history of name changing in the United States offers a previously unexplored window
into American Jewish life throughout the twentieth century. A Rosenberg by Any Other
Name demonstrates how historical debates about immigration, antisemitism and race,
class mobility, gender and family, the boundaries of the Jewish community, and the
power of government are reshaped when name changing becomes part of the conversation.
Autre(s) forme(s) du titre :
- Autre forme du titre : History of Jewish name changing in America
Sujet(s) : Noms de personnes juifs -- États-Unis -- Histoire
Indice(s) Dewey : 929.4 (23e éd.) = Noms de personnes
Identifiants, prix et caractéristiques : ISBN 9781479867202. - ISBN 1479867209
Identifiant de la notice : ark:/12148/cb45703855k
Notice n° :
FRBNF45703855
(notice reprise d'un réservoir extérieur)
Table des matières : Introduction : Sean Ferguson, Winona Ryder, and other Jewish names ; Part I. The rise of Jewish name changing in New York City after World War I. "My name proved to be a great handicap" : developing a pattern of Jewish family name changing in the interwar years ; "What's Uncle Sam's last name?" : the impact of World War II on Jews and name changing ; Part II. Responses to Jewish name changing after World War II. "I changed my name" : cultural debates over name changing, passing, and Jewish identity in the postwar era ; "Have you been known by another name?" : name changing and the politics of postwar Civil Rights legislation ; Part III. The decline of Jewish name changing in the 1960s and beyond. "My resentment of arbitrary authority" : the decline and erasure of name changing in American Jewish society ; "Not everyone is prepared to remake themselves" : Jews and other name changers in the 21st century ; Epilogue.
