The pluralism of Jewish identity among students at the University of Michigan, 1897–1945: An apt microcosm of American Jewry’s cultural heterogeneity and diverse identity

Abstract

This article highlights the overlap in Judaism’s presence as ethnicity and religion. By looking at the world of secular Jewish students at the University of Michigan during the first half of the 20th century, the study identifies four categories of Jews at this institution and demonstrates their overlapping as well as contrasting identities. The study thus underlines the massive diversity of secular Jewish identity in an often hostile world.