F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925) is an American modernist classic, one of the most frequently taught books in U.S. high schools, and—now that it has entered the public domain—the basis for two exciting new musicals (one of which is set to open at the A.R.T. on May 25th). The novel also presents distressing examples of white supremacist ideology and antisemitism, consistent with many other works of Anglo-American modernism.

In this class, we’ll consider Gatsby in its original cultural contexts, closely read a few key excerpts from Fitzgerald’s original text, and explore how previous media adaptations have handled the novel’s treatment of Jews and African-Americans. We’ll also contrast Gatsby’s reception to that of another fascinating (and Jewish) work of modernist fiction, also first published in 1925: Lesbian Love by Eve Adams [Chava Zlotchever].

Josh Lambert is the Sophia Moses Robison Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and English, and the director of the Jewish Studies Program, at Wellesley College. Previously, he spent ten years as the academic director of the Yiddish Book Center, and he has taught as a visiting professor at NYU, UMass Amherst, Princeton, and Harvard. His books include The Literary Mafia (2022), Unclean Lips (2014), and the anthology How Yiddish Changed America, and How America Changed Yiddish (2020). His reviews and essays appear regularly in newspapers and magazines, including the Atlantic, the New York Times Book Review, Jewish Currents, and Lilith.