Jewish Ideas to Change the World

Professor Shaina Hammerman, a professor of Jewish cultural studies for the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice at the University of San Francisco, presents her Valley Beit Midrash lecture "Dirty Jews: Gender and Vulgarity in Jewish Comedy" before an audience at Temple Chai (www.templechai.com/) in Phoenix, AZ.

ABOUT THIS LECTURE: In the past two decades, American comedy has been animated by a cohort of raunchy “sex comics” like Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman, Rachel Bloom, Lena Dunham, Ilana Glazer, and Abbi Jacobson, and others. This lecture ties together the bawdy content of these comedians’ acts with their shared identities as women and Jews. How does their work connect to the comedy of earlier generations of so-called “unkosher comediennes” like Sophie Tucker and Totie Fields? How does their work connect to the longstanding tradition of Jewish men’s comedy? It turns out that what we understand as “funny” and what we understand as “Jewish” depend entirely on the gender of the comedian.
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Music: "They Say" by WowaMusik, a public domain track from the YouTube Audio Library.

Show Notes

Professor Shaina Hammerman, a professor of Jewish cultural studies for the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice at the University of San Francisco, presents her Valley Beit Midrash lecture "Dirty Jews: Gender and Vulgarity in Jewish Comedy" before an audience at Temple Chai (www.templechai.com/) in Phoenix, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: In the past two decades, American comedy has been animated by a cohort of raunchy “sex comics” like Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman, Rachel Bloom, Lena Dunham, Ilana Glazer, and Abbi Jacobson, and others. This lecture ties together the bawdy content of these comedians’ acts with their shared identities as women and Jews. How does their work connect to the comedy of earlier generations of so-called “unkosher comediennes” like Sophie Tucker and Totie Fields? How does their work connect to the longstanding tradition of Jewish men’s comedy? It turns out that what we understand as “funny” and what we understand as “Jewish” depend entirely on the gender of the comedian. DONATE: www.bit.ly/1NmpbsP For more info, please visit: www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash/ www.facebook.com/temple.chai twitter.com/VBMTorah www.facebook.com/RabbiShmulyYanklowitz/ Music: "They Say" by WowaMusik, a public domain track from the YouTube Audio Library. ★ Support this podcast ★

What is Jewish Ideas to Change the World?

Jewish Ideas to Change the World delivers thought-provoking content by leading Jewish thinkers with diverse perspectives and backgrounds. It is produced by Valley Beit Midrash.

Valley Beit Midrash (VBM) is dedicated to social justice as driven by Torah ethics. VBM's mission is to improve lives through Jewish learning, direct action, and leadership development.

Listen to VBM's other podcasts:
• Social Justice in the Parsha (weekly divrei Torah by Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz)
• Pearls of Jewish Wisdom on Living with Kindness (Rabbi Shmuly's class series)

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• Website: https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org

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