Melissa R. Klapper is a Professor of History and Director of Women's & Gender Studies at Rowan University. Her scholarship delves into American Jewish history, with a particular focus on the experiences of women and girls within this community. Klapper examines the intersection of cultural identities and social norms in the lives of American Jewish women throughout the 20th century. Her research offers valuable insights into the evolving roles of women and the shaping of Jewish identity in the American landscape.
A pathbreaking social history that takes seriously the experiences of the countless everyday people who pursued recreational ballet, Ballet Class: An American History explores the growth of this now quintessential extracurricular activity as it became an integral part of American childhood across borders of gender, class, race, and sexuality.
Considering one of the largely neglected groups in immigration history, Small Strangers recounts and interprets the varied experiences of immigrant children to illustrate how immigration, urbanization, and industrialization-all related processes-molded modern America.