Sweating for democracy: working-class media and the struggle for 'hegemonic Jewishness,' 1919-1941

Using the framework of political economy of media, this dissertation examines the history of the Jewish working class counterpublic in the United States during the interwar period and its relationships to the broader public sphere. Between 1919 and 1941, organic intellectuals, such as B.C. Vladeck, J.B.S. Hardman, Fannia Cohn, and Morris Novik, employed strategies to maintain the Yiddish-language newspaper the Forward, worker education programs, and radio station WEVD. These forms of media and cultural production were shaped by internal conflicts and struggles within the counterpublic, as well as evolving practices and ideas around advertising, public relations, and democracy. Vladeck, Hardman, Cohn and Novik all helped to extend Yiddish socialist culture through the reactionary 1920s while laying the groundwork for an American working class culture represented by the CIO in the 1930s, and a broad consensus around a commercial media system by the postwar period. This history demonstrates the challenges, conflicts, and contradictions that emerge in media production within counterpublics, and posits that other similar case studies are necessary in order develop enlightened strategies to democratize our contemporary media system.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Communication

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2012

Author dc:creator

• Dolber, Brian

Contributors dc:contributor

• McChesney, Robert W.
• Nerone, John C.
• Barrett, James R.
• Stole, Inger L.

• political economy
• counterpublics
• working class history
• Jewish labor movement
• Daily Forward
• International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU)
• Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA)
• Newspaper Guild
• alternative media
• media history

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2011 Brian Dolber

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/29652

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/29652