MAHJONG: A CHINESE GAME AND THE MAKING OF MODERN AMERICAN CULTURE

Mahjong: A Chi­nese Game and the Mak­ing of Mod­ern Amer­i­can Cul­ture illus­trates how the spaces between tiles and the moments between games have fos­tered dis­tinct social cul­tures in the Unit­ed States. This mass-pro­duced game crossed the Pacif­ic, cre­at­ing waves of pop­u­lar­i­ty over the twen­ti­eth cen­tu­ry. Annelise Heinz nar­rates the his­to­ry of this game to show how it has cre­at­ed a vari­ety of mean­ings, among them Amer­i­can moder­ni­ty, Chi­nese Amer­i­can her­itage, and Jew­ish Amer­i­can wom­en’s cul­ture. As it trav­eled from Chi­na to the Unit­ed States and caught on with Hol­ly­wood star­lets, high soci­ety, mid­dle-class house­wives, and immi­grants alike, mahjong became a quin­tes­sen­tial­ly Amer­i­can game.

Annelise Heinz is an assis­tant pro­fes­sor of his­to­ry at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Ore­gon. Her work has been fea­tured on Nation­al Pub­lic Radio and inter­na­tion­al Chi­nese tele­vi­sion. She has lived and played mahjong in the Unit­ed States and South­west­ern China.

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Sponsors: CCJCC, Cong. B'nai Shalom and the Jewish Book Council.