Overview

Going Greek offers an unprecedented look at the relationship between American Jewish students and fraternity life during its heyday in the first half of the twentieth century. More than secret social clubs, fraternities and sororities profoundly shaped the lives of members long after they left college-often dictating choices in marriage as well as business alliances. Widely viewed as a key to success, membership in these self-governing, sectarian organizations was desirable but not easily accessible, especially to non-Protestants and nonwhites. In Going Greek Marianne Sanua examines the founding of Jewish fraternities in light of such topics as antisemitism, the unique challenges faced by Jewish students on campuses across the United States, responses to World War II, and questions pertaining to assimilation and/or identity reinforcement.

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9780814344194

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Reviews

The book's wealth of details and many photos will interest those who want to know everything there is to know about this subject.--Jewish Book World Going Greek is, in the broadest sense, a study of the myriad ways Jews have constructed their identities to make sense of internal and external pressures in the United States. Sanua's book reminds readers that debates about the meaning of Jewishness, its institutional dimensions, and the demands it extracts have a long and complicated history in the United States.--The Jewish Quarterly Review Going Greek is Marianne R. Sanua's thoughtful, well-written analysis of the evolution of Jewish fraternities and sororities on American college campuses before World War II. Her thorough research challenges our preconceptions, and vividly and candidly portrays the opportunities and problems faced by members of these groups. Sanua deftly places her story in the contexts of the acculturation of Jews to the American environment and the diversification of American higher education.--Harold Wechsler, University of Rochester

The book's wealth of details and many photos will interest those who want to know everything there is to know about this subject.--Jewish Book World Going Greek is Marianne R. Sanua's thoughtful, well-written analysis of the evolution of Jewish fraternities and sororities on American college campuses before World War II. Her thorough research challenges our preconceptions, and vividly and candidly portrays the opportunities and problems faced by members of these groups. Sanua deftly places her story in the contexts of the acculturation of Jews to the American environment and the diversification of American higher education.--Harold Wechsler, University of Rochester Going Greek is, in the broadest sense, a study of the myriad ways Jews have constructed their identities to make sense of internal and external pressures in the United States. Sanua's book reminds readers that debates about the meaning of Jewishness, its institutional dimensions, and the demands it extracts have a long and complicated history in the United States.--The Jewish Quarterly Review

Author Information

Marianne Sanua is an assistant professor in the Holocaust and Judaic Studies Program and the Department of History at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida.

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