m TRAINING BUREAU FG!? JEWISH COMMUNAL SERVICE ||־ , ,East 32nd Street, New York 16, N,Y11*1-4 ׳־ 145 COURSE II a.ASPECTS OF THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMUNITY Syllabus for Session 1 - The Sociological Approach 2 - Migration, Population and Vital Statistics זד 3)~ Adjustment, Accomodation, Acculturation and Assimil&ti^ ־•• (U : 13 *1V.'/ ¥ i CONTENTS: Outline of lectures by Dr. Ephraim Fischoff •D \14 Introduction to the Sociology of the American Jewish Community by Prof. Leo Srole Bibliography - by Dr. Ephraim Fischoff ¥ ; •יי• EXPERIMENTAL EDITION - AWAITING PUBLICATION NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION Lecturer: Dr. Ephraim Fischoff (COMMENTS WELCOMED) July 6,7,8 and 9 SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE Ai-iERICAN JEVISH COMMUNITY Session 1 The Sociological Approach Basic categories of the sociologist's encroach. Society, culture 3nd personality. Functionalism. Community 3nd its criteria. Somee conclusions of the comparative study of communities. The concepts of marginality and secularization. Major characteristics of the American habitat relevant to the forcetion of the Jewish community in the U.S.A. The Emergence. Growth and Structure of the American Jewish Community Session 2. Migration, Population and Vital Statistics Migration - the verious •waves of immigration, their causes, composition, etc. Dis'ributiori. Occupational adjustment, economic and soci:l position tiori data. The r<roble1a of adequate st; tistics ?bout Jews in the ״Ponul U.S.A. Vifel statistics. Session 3 & 4-. Adjustment, Accommodation. Acculturation and Assimilation. The emergence of Jevish comrunal activities and their major types. The problem of the generations. Operation of secularization and the reflection of distinctively American conditions, Status end function of various institutions and •cormxael activities: religious, educational, rnr 1. Ethnic, social snd ideological ׳t .־social service, social ?•nd fr differences. Indices of assimilation. Centripet 1 tendencies. Impsct ctors of the 20th century on:־of decisive national and international f nd־׳ the Jewries of the U.S.A. Crystallisation of local, regional nation. 1 communalistic organizations, and the emergence of m American .tions ׳Jewish community. Minority status snd its implic - la - I. INTRODUCTION A. Object of thfe program - vision, perspective. B. Problems re u re of leadership 1. not only organizational or administr tive skills 2. but intellectual and morel stature. C. To achieve this objective, three courses arranged. D. This course views the Jo ish community 1. in the Araericcn content 2. in terms of sociological processes S. First four sessions - to cover 1. foundations of sociological approach 2. general design of American society 3. dynamics of Jewish community U• Je^dsh personality 5. relev nce of material for Jewish le dership II. 1/HiiT IS THE SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH? A. Line between sociologist end social service worker B. Mutuel criticisms C.Pecent changes on both sides - illustrations 1. intensive community studies 2. rction - research - problems D. Sociel science - techni ue and point of view 1. concerned with individuals interacting in groups 2. how does its view differ from th^t of the normal individual as sociel actor? 3. the t ctor stands at the center of a great network a. the network is a tapestry with complex patterns b. the actor moves ?:long a number of strands c. these strands ere grooves of experience end habit which he accents as his personal universe, e.g. one's family d. to those tied by these strrnds, one reacts not mechanic illy therefore, the actor's view of his society a. is myopic b. is colered (1) rosy - mother, gng, college, home town (2) black - prejudices C. both constrict and distort social vision 5• Correctives - objectivity a, sociologist himself a product b. awareness and control c, biases d. role of spectator - e.g. anthropologist e, avoid involvement - neutrality f. attitudes as facts g« difficulties 6. perspective - forest and trees a. each strand as component of design b. social behavior in context c. physiological analogy d. all the relevant fact - nothing taken for granted e. difficulties 7. analysis - dissection into components - requires conceptual tools a* behavior patterns - codified and customary b. social roles - set of patterns c. institution - organization of roles with functions d. social structure - system of institutions which embrace the social life of a community e. culture - whole body of values f. discriminate constants and variations 8# prediction - a, science as end and means b, capacity to calculate consequences c, sociological prediction - difficulties d, reduce unknowns and increase knowledge of variables e, minimum - conditions for failure - UJA campaigns f, community worker - must evaluate alternative lines of action g• native social intelligence fortified AMERICAN CULTURE - THE SETTING A. Prestige as a universal social factor 1. all cultures in the world - express their major cultural values by differential distribution of prestige among their members -נ- 2. generally according to the social roles they perform - a• Polynesia - chieftainship by inheritance b. Eskima - the great hunters - food providers - Ind. skill c. Plains Indians - the warrior - ind. prowess d®׳nhefit־d. Sff Indians - the priest - magical powers1 -acquired 3. with this prestige, goes superior status rank identified with a number of special prerogatives U• i.e. certain rewards are attached to the performance of highly valued roles in the social div. of labor thereby, differentiating superior and inferior categories cr classes of individuals B. American equality 1. original conception of social democracy did not hold all inds to be of equal social value 2. referred to equality of opportunity for all under the special social conditions of freedom 3• not that "all men are created equal" but in the actual words of Dec, of Ind. "all created equally free" U. freedom being the condition allowing each man unrestricted choice of the roles he is to perform up to the limit of his natural capacities under such equality of opportunity the roles on acquires are accepted as a more or less true measure of one's natural capacities and individual worth "better man" a. hence, although it is an accepted American cultural value or ideal that any man can say to any other "I'm as good as you are" b. in actual practice, the social structure operates to differentiate not only superior and inferior roles, but sup - inf individuals c., conflict is resolved by verbal avoidance - 6. classless society impossible - Russia C. American social class system - 1. unlike simple socs, where a single dominant role determines one's prestige or status - 2. in U.S. it is a combination of roles which differentiate on a sup - inf scale the social value and status of all individuals in the community 3. we shall discuss these roles in greater detail in a moment, but let us first name them a• occupational role b. property role c. associational roles d. cultural role k» there are variations in each of these types of roles on a value scale peculiar to each type 5. and inds tend to be ranked by the sum total of the values they exhibit in a scale - highest - lowest 6. among those inds who fall in the same range of the rank scale, there are certain common cultural attributes which differentiate them as a group, with fair clarity, from groups in other ranges of the scale 7. these differentiated rank or status groups are called social classes or class strate - 8. each class is identifiable as a social group a, by differences in behavior patterns, roles and culture such that within the overall American culture it represents a sub-culture b, by social interrelationships forming a loose, Informal but more or less exclusive kind of organization c, by definite differences in personality 9. in Yankee City, possible to distinguish three major rank levels, L - M - U, each divided into two parts - i.e« six social class strata a. LL - lower t lower - "poor class" b. UL - upper - lower - "working class" c. LM - lower - middle - "white collar" d. TO! - upper - middle - "well-to-do" e. LU - lower - upper - "new rich" f. UU - upper - upper - "old families - aristocracy" Occupational roles - 1. in the American economy, each type of work role, with a defined set of behavior patterns is known as an occupation 2. occupational roles are differentiated in economic and social value according to the technical and social skills involved ־ 5 ־ 3• economic value expressed in different money returns 11, social value expressed in differential prestige and economic status with occupations graded in a continuous hierarchical order six occupational strat - a. unskilled labor - LL b. skilled - factory operations - LL, UL. LM c. skilled - crafts " - LL. UL. LM d. management - aid " - UL. Ul, UM e. management " - UL, LM. UM. LU. uu f. professions'" - UL. LM. M7 LU. UU 6. within each stratum there are important variations, E, Property roles - 1, status value is involved not in mere money accumulations a, a miser with a million could be LL b. but rather observable, useful, productive wealth (1) real property (2) capital investments, especially in the community (3) home - area, size, style, furnishings, etc, (U) standard of living, e«g. clothes, automobile 2, this does not lend itself to ready classification, s overall wealth isי because the quantity of one surrounded with heavy personal taboos - a, precisely because one aspires to higher social class status than one's property possessions would allow b, i.e. wealth alone must not be allowed to fix one's prestige and rank f, Associational roles - social class status of parents - inherited ־ family ,1 rank 2, church 3, organizations - clubs, lodges, fraternities, Class range iu clique - informal, recreational relations especially in home a, among inds of same social class, there can be symmetrical relations - equality of prestige, mutuality of behavior pattersn, informality and social intimacy -6- b, hence, individual tends to select his closest friends only those with whom he can be in symmetrical relations - those of the same social class c.