Format and Medium
The format and medium of the presentation of these findings is particularly important to the conclusions this research draws. In historical research, scholars often implement images in various forms to support claims and develop evidence. However, in academic journals and texts, images get lost in appendices as mere decorations to the larger emphasis on text based primary sources and secondary scholarship. Part of what this project aims to do is utilize images as primary sources to their full potential and recognize their critical value as historical evidence. Therefore, throughout this project, the analysis of primary source images will drive the argument and answer to the research question. However, the limitations of primary images is also important to discerning an accurate historical narrative. As British geographer Gillian Rose points out, “[v]isual imagery is never innocent,” and is often produced and manipulated with specific perspectives and intentions that inevitably alter what the image portrays and how scholars perceive them (Rose, 23). In short, images are not magic windows into the past, but rather a lens into a unique interpretation of historical events. These interpretations are valuable, as they give images historical agency within the arguments they support.
I plan to examine photographs, illustrations, and menu covers from Jewish delis in NYC from 1910 to 1945 to analyze the Jewish American identity that developed within the walls of the restaurants. I will answer my research question throughout this analysis and implement secondary scholarship to ponder the tensions between ethnic continuity and assimilation, as well as investigate the gender and class roles that the images portray.
In historical research, scholars often implement images in various forms to support claims and develop evidence. However, in academic journals and texts, images get lost in appendices as mere decorations to the larger emphasis on text based primary sources and secondary scholarship. Part of what this project aims to do is utilize images as primary sources to their full potential and recognize their critical value as historical evidence. Therefore, throughout this project, the analysis of primary source images will drive the argument and answer to the research question. The site will organize and analyze images chronologically from 1911 through 1945.
This exhibit will analyze six images chronologically starting with the deli's introduction in the 1910's, going through the 1920s and 30s, and ending with the beginning of their decline in the 1940s. The analysis will be focussed on Jewish American identity in NYC, and the investigation of these images will reveal what this identity looks like, and what evolves as the images travel through time.