Jewish Images: Imagining Jews

One greeting card tells the recipient that bar mitzvah is“the last big-bucks-from-distant-relatives-occasion till you graduate from high school.” Another displays a cartoon of the Israelites traversing the Red Sea behind a street sign that says:“CAUTION—CHILDREN OF ISRAEL CROSSING.”

But these cards are no joke. They're part of a display in the INSC's Zubrow Commons of Jewish material culture organized by religion professor Ken Koltun-Fromm ‘88 and students of his class "Jewish Images: Imagining Jews."

Items ranged from mezuzahs (doorpost scrolls bearing verses from the book of Deuteronomy), to Jewish children's games, to a poster of quotes on“Japs” (Jewish-American princesses). Whatever the subject, visitors saw a variety of perspectives—from how Jews see themselves to outside viewpoints.

“One of the things I want them [students] to think about is how you would display an issue…,” said Koltun-Fromm.“Instead of talking about it or reading about it, what are the things that you have to do to see it?”

Koltun-Fromm, who wore a T-shirt simply stating“,” said Jews made a particularly interesting display topic because of their multifarious identities as a religious, ethnic, and national group.

The display originated as a class project in which students were given fake budgets to create a collection of Jewish-related items, mostly by scanning online at sites like Ebay. A grant from Haverford's Center for Peace and Global Citizenship allowed Koltun-Fromm's class to purchase some of the proposed items (including T-shirts), which Koltun-Fromm hopes will initiate a real collection of Jewish material culture at Haverford.

In the meantime, students were pleased to demonstrate their discoveries surrounding portrayals of Judaism.

“This just goes to show that the Jap stereotype is just that: a stereotype,” said Susanna Tolkin '09, who explained the origins of the Jap concept (Jewish girls who buy designer clothing on sale in an attempt to look fashionable) as a likely side effect of some newly-immigrated Jewish Americans simply trying to assimilate.

Nicole Magill '10, who displayed the influence of American perspectives on Jewish holidays via greeting cards, also demonstrated the Jap stereotype with a Juicy Couture pink outfit, Coco Chanel sunglasses, and Tiffany-like jewelry. “It's pretty interesting stuff,” said Magill.“I'm curious as to what people will say after seeing this display.”

-Brian Johnson '08