Why read Science, Jews, and Secular Culture?

Book cover of Science, Jews, and Secular Culture: Studies in Mid-Twentieth-Century American Intellectual History

Book description

This remarkable group of essays described the "culture wars" that consolidated a new, secular ethos in mid-twentieth-century American academia and generated the fresh energies needed for a wide range of scientific and cultural enter-prises. Focusing on the decades from the 1930s through the 1960s, David Hollinger discusses the scientists, social…

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Topics

Jewish history

Genres

American history

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Why read it?

1 author picked Science, Jews, and Secular Culture as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Suzanna Sherry

Author

Like Stone’s book, this is a book about history, not wokeness. It’s not an easy read, but it’s worth the effort.

It recounts the triumph of scientific reasoning and liberal tolerance over several decades in the mid-twentieth century. That triumph was largely brought about by the “secularization” of American culture, spearheaded by Jewish intellectuals.

I read it long before wokeness was a thing – it was published in 1996 – and found it interesting but not particularly relevant to anything I was thinking about. But when wokeness came along, it suddenly hit me that this new religion was taking us…

From Suzanna's list on why liberals should fear “woke” culture.