The Changing Landscape of Jewish American Literature
Part of the series “America at 250: Jewish Ideas and the American Experiment”
With Rabbi Benjamin Resnick, Author of Next Stop, Rabbi Pelham Jewish Center, Rabbinical School Alum
For decades, Jewish American literature was defined by giants like Roth, Bellow, Malamud, and Ozick, whose novels explored assimilation and the immigrant experience. But what defines Jewish American writing today? Author and JTS alum Rabbi Benjamin Resnick reflects on how the field has changed and asks whether the Jewish American novel still exists in the way readers once understood it.
About the Series
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the JTS Summer 2026 Learning Series will explore the rich and surprising intersections between Jewish thought and American life. From baseball and youth culture to constitutional law, storytelling, and democratic theory, leading scholars reveal how Jewish ideas, texts, and experiences have shaped—and been shaped by—the American experiment.
