Description
Book SynopsisThis book studies the unique demographic behavior of Jews in Bohemia (the historic part of the Czech Republic), starting from a moment in history when industrialization in Central Europe was still far away in the future, and when Jews were still living legally restricted lives in ghettos. Very early on, however, from the 18th century onwards, Jews developed patterns of decreasing mortality and fertility that was not observed among the gentile majority in Bohemia; patterns which established them as a demographic avant-garde population in all of Europe. Demographic Avant-Garde elucidates what made Jews in Bohemia true forerunners of the demographic transition and why this occurred when it did. It scrutinizes demographic statistics from the mid-eighteenth to the mid-twentieth century, and examines what made Bohemian Jews' data distinct from the trends observed in the gentile community and among Jews in other lands. In search for the answers, Vobecka's analysis touches also upon the cultural, social, political and economic environment.
Trade Review"A ground-breaking work of demographic and social history based on a painstaking combing of archival material, careful quantitative analysis, and originality of argument. Demographic Avant-Garde changes our understanding of Jewish life in the Bohemian lands in fundamental ways and will be required reading for serious students of the modern Jewish experience." --Hillel J. Kieval, Goldstein Professor of Jewish History and Thought, Washington University in St. Louis "Demographic Avant-Garde is a definitive work in Jewish population studies and in the demographic history of an important area of the world - a model for the analysis of social and demographic changes of one interesting and important European sub-population as well a model of more general social demographic changes in the transition to social and economic modernization." --Calvin Goldscheider, Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Ungerleider Professor Emeritus of Judaic Studies, Brown University "Jana Vobecka's book makes an important contribution to our general understanding of the drivers of demographic transition. It nicely complements earlier studies in the context of the Princeton European Fertility Project, which could not identify such distinct sub-populations. In my reading of this important book, the higher education of Jews was a key reason for their earlier and faster demographic transition." --Wolfgang Lutz, Founding Director, Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital "Jews in Central-Western Europe were among the extraordinary forerunners of a demographic transition - (that) gradually expanded to the rest of European societies, and eventually to the near totality of humankind. This study by Jana Vobecka skillfully explores how and why it all began in Bohemia - ." --Sergio DellaPergola, Professor Emeritus,TheAvraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Table of ContentsContents Part 1:The Concept of a Demographic Avant-Garde: Three Keys Chapter 1. Population Change, Demographic Transition and Its Forerunners Chapter 2. Historical Context: Jews in Bohemia Chapter 3. Data Sources: Correct Use and Interpretation Part 2: Jewish Population Development in Bohemia: Trends and Transitions from Mid-Eighteens to Mid-Twentieth Century Chapter 4. Population Growth and Spatial Distribution Chapter 5. Population Structure: Sex, Age, and Marital Status Chapter 6. Marital Patterns: Nuptiality and Divorce Chapter 7. Fertility Chapter 8. Mortality and Causes of Death Chapter 9. Natural Population Increase, Migration, Religious Disaffiliation, and Acculturation Part 3. Social and Economic Characteristics of Jews in Bohemia Chapter 10. Linguistic Identity and Ethnicity Chapter 11. Structure of the Education System and Enrolment Chapter 12. Social Status, Professional Structure, and Economic Contributions Conclusion
