The Jazz Age and the Creation of American Jewish Culture - The 92nd Street Y, New York

Your Cart

On Demand

92NY Humanities Audio Collection

Shabbot Salon

The Jazz Age and the Creation of American Jewish Culture

Sep 15, 2006


Ted Merwin, Professor of Religion and Judaic Studies at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania and chief theater critic at The Jewish Week, speaks about his new book, In Their Own Image: New York Jews in Jazz Age Popular Culture (2006). Merwin explains how he became interested in the culture of the Jazz Age and reflects on his experience growing up in a secular Jewish home. He explains the progression of Jewish-American culture, starting with immigrant communities on the Lower East Side of New York. Merwin also shares slides and explains the uniquely Jewish contributions to vaudeville, Broadway productions, Art Deco theater architecture, and the burgeoning contemporary entertainment business of the 1920s. The lecture is followed with questions from the audience.

The Preservation of and Increased Access to the 92nd Street Y Humanities Audio Archives is generously funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.

92NY Performance History

Explore 24,000+ events from 1929-present
Ted Merwin (2 results)


Did you know that donations cover nearly half of our costs?

As a nonprofit community and cultural center, The 92nd Street Y, New York relies on support from people like you. Your donation today helps us continue connecting you to the programs you love, no matter where in the world you are.

© 2024 The Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association

All Rights Reserved.

All material accessed via the 92NY website (“content”) is protected by copyright under U.S. Copyright laws and is the property of The Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association or the party credited as the provider of the content. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, display, perform, modify, create derivative works, transmit, or in any way exploit any such content, nor may you distribute any part of this content over any network, including a local area network, sell or offer it for sale, or use such content to construct any kind of database. You may not alter or remove any copyright or other notice from copies of the content accessed via 92NY’s website. Copying or storing any content except as provided above is expressly prohibited without prior written permission of 92NY or the copyright holder identified in the individual content’s copyright notice.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this collection do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Please note that all 92Y regularly scheduled in-person programs are suspended.