Faculty

Office: 222 Manchester Hall
Telephone: (860) 486-4289 or 486-2271 [Judaic Studies)
e-mail: arnold.dashefsky@uconn.edu

Biographical Statement:

Dr. Arnold Dashefsky earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Temple University and a Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Minnesota as well as a B.H.L. at Gratz College ( Philadelphia ). He also studied at the Hebrew University and Hayim Greenberg College in Jerusalem . Prior to his position at the University of Connecticut , Arnie taught at Temple , Penn State - Ogontz , and Minnesota . In addition to the books cited below, he is also the editor of several volumes: ETHNIC IDENTITY IN SOCIETY (edited for Rand-McNally, 1976) and CONTEMPORARY JEWRY, Volumes 7 and 8 (edited for the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry and published by Transaction Books, 1986 and 1987). He is currently working on two new books: A TIME TO GIVE (with B. Lazerwitz ), which focuses on the motivations for charitable giving, and AMERICAN JEWS: CONTINUITY AND IDENTITY (with J. A. Winter), which identifies the current trends in American Jewish life. He has been honored by being named a distinguished alumnus of Gratz College at its Centennial Convocation and elected to the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences ( New Haven ). Arnie is past president of the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry, an international organization, and is also past editor of its journal. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Association for Jewish Studies, an international organization. A former Associate Head of the Sociology Department, he is now the founding Director of the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life located in the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center .

Education:

Ph.D. 1969, University of Minnesota
M.A. 1966, Temple University
B. A. 1964 , Temple University
BHL 1963, Gratz College

Selected Publications:

Charitable Choices: Philanthropic Decisions of Donors in the American Jewish Community. Lanham , MD :  Lexington Books. Forthcoming.  ( with B. Lazerwitz ). 

Jewish Choices: American Jewish Denominationalism . Albany , NY : SUNY Press, 1998 (with B. Lazerwitz , J.A. Winter and E. Tabory ).

Americans Abroad: A Comparative Study of Emigrants from the United States . New York : Plenum 1992 (with J. De Amicis , B. Lazerwitz and E. Tabory ).

Ethnic Identification Among American Jews . Lanham , MD : UPA (2nd ed. with a new introduction, originally published by Lexington Books, Lexington , MA.) 1993 [1974] (with Howard M. Shapiro).