Judaic Studies Program at Syracuse University

Syracuse University

Harvey Teres

Harvey Teres teaches classes for Judaic Studies on classics of Jewish-American literature, primarily concentrating upon the works of Roth, Schwartz, Ozick and Paley. What most interests Teres in this area is that it comments upon changes in the ethnic and religious identity of Jewish-American authors at the beginning of the twentieth century. Among these writers are those in New York known as the “New York Intellectuals,” a group that Teres has studied and written extensively. In his classes, Teres hopes that students gain an understanding of what minority groups, such as Jewish-Americans, contribute to the literary artistry of American cultural history.

Teres is currently working on a book American Beauty: Aesthetics and Ordinary Life, a selection in the New York State Encyclopedia on the “New York Intellectuals” and an article entitled "The Postwar Critical Climate" in A History of the Book in America. Vol. 5. New York: Cambridge University Press.