Observation ·
Reckoning; or, the Distressing Transformation of Harvard (and American Academia)
By Dr. Ruth WisseWhat I witnessed in my two decades of teaching at Harvard.
The Memoirs of Ruth Wisse
Latest Mosaic Content for The Memoirs of Ruth Wisse
Observation ·
Arrival; or, Yiddish Makes Its Way to Harvard Yard
By Dr. Ruth WisseAt arguably the moment of Harvard's greatest involvement with Jews and Judaism, new movements in (anti-)intellectual thought started to creep in, too.
Observation ·
Leadership; or, Some Specific Strengths and General Failures of the American Jewish Fighting Spirit
By Dr. Ruth WisseFrom academia to philanthropy to journalism, my experience with Jewish leadership has been by turns discouraging and inspiring.
Observation ·
Contention; or, My Disputes with Irving Howe, Yiddish Academia, and Holocaust Memorials
By Dr. Ruth WisseContention was so much a part of modern Yiddish culture that, in any study of that culture, it was all but taken for granted.
Observation ·
Politics; or, Grappling with Liberalism and Women’s Lib
By Dr. Ruth WisseI expected the women's movement to evaporate as quickly as it had materialized. It was the worst cultural prediction of my life.
Observation ·
Intellect; or, Daring to Become a Writer
By Dr. Ruth WisseOn making one's way into the "intimidatingly smart" realm of the New York Jewish intellectuals, and the company of I.B. Singer.
Observation ·
Ascent; Or, Moving to Israel in the 1970s
By Dr. Ruth WisseFor me, living in Israel is a moral imperative. There is no elegant or painless way to describe why, after a year, we left.
Observation ·
Perseverance; or, My Fight to Study, and to Teach, Yiddish Literature
By Dr. Ruth WisseIn the late 1960s, appointments in Jewish studies were springing up in tandem with the “adversarial culture.” But we intended to strengthen the universities, not to trash them.
Observation ·
Destiny; or, How I Found My Two “Basherts”
By Dr. Ruth WisseRuth R. Wisse discovers her husband and her subject.
Observation ·
Discovery; or, the Ferment of Jewish Montreal in the Fifties
By Dr. Ruth WisseWith the relaxation of Catholic influence in Quebec, local Jewish culture began to come of age and flourish.
Observation ·
Accommodation: Or, Growing Up Jewish in Protestant Canada
By Dr. Ruth WisseWe were invited to join in the school's prayers and hymns, but our grateful acquiescence also implied there was something illicit or shameful about our Jewishness.
Observation ·
Responsibility; or, My Brother and I (and Leonard Cohen) Go to Summer Camp
By Dr. Ruth WisseAnd come to differing conclusions about the obligations of collective living.
Observation ·
Freedom; or, How a Family of Survivors Found Its Place in Jewish Montreal
By Dr. Ruth WisseFather brought us out of bondage, but Mother decided where we were to settle and how we were to live.
Observation ·
Survival; or, How My Family Beat the Odds in 1940
By Dr. Ruth WisseIt wasn't easy for an entire Jewish family to escape Eastern Europe in the mid-20th century. Ruth Wisse's did.
