New York Jews and American Popular Culture of the 20th Century

Join BZD and our guide Dr. David E. Kaufman, as he addresses the extraordinary contributions made by New York Jews to 20th-century American culture in fields of popular culture as diverse as political activism, feminism, comedy, journalism, literature, comic book illustration, musical composition, movie acting, stage entertainment, photography, film direction, and poetry among many others. He will reveal the extraordinary impact made by the ‘New York Jew’ on the face of this city and history writ large.

Dr. David E. Kaufman was born and bred in Brooklyn, New York, and educated at the Bialik Hebrew Day School and the Yeshiva of Flatbush High School. He holds degrees from Columbia College, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and Brandeis University. With a Ph.D. in American Jewish History, he taught at colleges such as CUNY, Brown University, University of Massachusetts/Amherst, Hebrew Union College/Los Angeles, and Hofstra University. In addition to numerous articles on the social, religious, and architectural history of the American synagogue, Dr. Kaufman has authored two books: Shul with a Pool: The Synagogue-Center in American Jewish History (Brandeis, 1999) and Jewhooing the Sixties: American Celebrity and Jewish Identity (Brandeis, 2012). David currently lives on the Upper West Side and is engaged in public education, researching, writing, and teaching the history of the New York Jewish community.