Melissa Klapper

American historian and storyteller

Melissa R. Klapper
Alma mater	Goucher College Rutgers University–New Brunswick
Awards	National Jewish Book Award (2013)
Scientific career
Fields	American history, women's history, modern Jewish history, history of childhood
Institutions	Rowan University
Doctoral advisor	Alice Kessler-Harris

Melissa Rose Klapper is an American historian and storyteller. She is a professor of American and women's history at Rowan University. Klapper has authored books on American Jewish women's history and the history of children and youth in the United States.

Life

Klapper completed a B.A. at Goucher College in 1995.^[1]^[2] Peter Bardaglio, Julie Roy Jeffrey, and Laurie Kaplan served as undergraduate mentors of Klapper.^[3] She earned a Ph.D. in history from Rutgers University–New Brunswick.^[2] Her 2001 dissertation was titled "A Fair Portion of the World's Knowledge": Jewish Girls Coming of Age in America, 1860-1920. Alice Kessler-Harris was Klapper's doctoral advisor.^[3]

Since 2001 Klapper has been a professor of American and women's history at Rowan University, where she is also director of the Women's & Gender Studies Program.^[2]^[4] Klapper specializes in the late 19th and early 20th century.^[2] Klapper served as co-chair of the Modern Jewish History, The Americas division of the Association for Jewish Studies.^[2] Her 2013 book, Ballots, Babies, and Banners of Peace: American Jewish Women's Activism, 1890-1940, won a National Jewish Book Award in women's studies.^[2] In March 2023, she became a three-day champion on Jeopardy!, winning a total of $60,100.^[1] In March 2024, she competed in Jeopardy!'s Tournament of Champions.^[5]

Selected works

Klapper, Melissa R. (2005). Jewish Girls Coming of Age in America, 1860-1920. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-4780-3.^[6]
Klapper, Melissa R. (2007). Small Strangers: The Experiences of Immigrant Children in America, 1880-1925. Ivan R. Dee. ISBN 978-1-56663-733-6.^[7]
Klapper, Melissa R. (2013). Ballots, Babies, and Banners of Peace: American Jewish Women's Activism, 1890-1940. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-4894-7.^[8]
Klapper, Melissa R. (2020). Ballet Class: An American History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-090868-3.

References

^ ^a ^b Feiler, Alan (2023-03-20). "Baltimore Native Dr. Melissa R. Klapper Wins on 'Jeopardy!'". JMORE. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Melissa Klapper, Ph.D." chss.rowan.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
^ ^a ^b Klapper, Melissa Rose (2001). "A fair portion of the world's knowledge" : Jewish girls coming of age in America, 1860-1920 (Ph.D. thesis). Rutgers University–New Brunswick. OCLC 56898108.
^ "Amplifying voices of women and children in history". today.rowan.edu. May 5, 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
^ "2024 Tournament of Champions". Jeopardy. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
^
Reviews of Jewish Girls Coming of Age in America, 1860-1920:
- Turk, Diana B. (2006). "Review of Jewish Girls Coming of Age in America, 1860-1920". Shofar. 24 (4): 206–208. ISSN 0882-8539. JSTOR 42944226.
- Stern, Miriam Heller (2004). "Review of Jewish Girls Coming of Age in America, 1860–1920". American Jewish History. 92 (3): 374–376. ISSN 0164-0178. JSTOR 23887309.
- Schwartz, Shuly Rubin (2007). "Review of Jewish Girls Coming of Age in America, 1860-1920". The American Historical Review. 112 (1): 231–232. doi:10.1086/ahr.112.1.231. ISSN 0002-8762. JSTOR 4136089.
- Berg, Ellen L. (2005). Klapper, Melissa R. (ed.). "Bridging Worlds: American Adolescent Jewish Girls". The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. 4 (3): 315–317. doi:10.1017/S153778140000267X. ISSN 1537-7814. JSTOR 25144405. S2CID 163334674.
- Fishman, Aleisa (2006). "Review of Jewish Girls Coming of Age in America, 1860-1920". AJS Review. 30 (2): 469–470. doi:10.1017/S0364009406340202. ISSN 0364-0094. JSTOR 4131686. S2CID 161572016.
- Magnes, Rhea (2006). "Review of Jewish Girls Coming of Age in America, 1860-1920". Journal of American Ethnic History. 25 (4): 201–202. doi:10.2307/27501767. ISSN 0278-5927. JSTOR 27501767. S2CID 254484236.
- Moore, Deborah Dash (2006). "Review of Jewish Girls Coming of Age in America, 1860-1920". The Journal of American History. 93 (1): 242–243. doi:10.2307/4486152. ISSN 0021-8723. JSTOR 4486152.
- Schrum, Kelly (2006). "Review of Jewish Girls Coming of Age in America, 1860-1920". Journal of Social History. 40 (1): 233–234. doi:10.1353/jsh.2006.0096. ISSN 0022-4529. JSTOR 4491867. S2CID 55225389.
^
Reviews of Small Strangers:
- Barrett, James R. (2009). "Review of Small Strangers: The Experience of Immigrant Children in America, 1880-1920". History of Education Quarterly. 49 (1): 125–127. doi:10.1111/j.1748-5959.2009.01172.x. ISSN 0018-2680. JSTOR 20462276. S2CID 144489630.
- Wild, H. Mark (2008). "Review of Small Strangers: The Experiences of Immigrant Children in America, 1880-1925". The Journal of American History. 94 (4): 1282–1283. doi:10.2307/25095396. ISSN 0021-8723. JSTOR 25095396.
- Cross, Gary (2008). "Review of Small Strangers: The Experience of Immigrant Children in America, 1880-1925". Journal of Social History. 42 (2): 521–522. doi:10.1353/jsh.0.0127. ISSN 0022-4529. JSTOR 27696463. S2CID 142801361.
- Weissbach, Lee Shai (2008). "Review of Small Strangers: The Experience of Immigrant Children in America, 1880-1925". The American Historical Review. 113 (3): 839–840. doi:10.1086/ahr.113.3.839. ISSN 0002-8762. JSTOR 30223112.
- Berger, Garrett (2008). "Review of Small Strangers: The Experiences of Immigrant Children in America, 1880–1925". The Virginia Quarterly Review. 84 (1): 260. ISSN 0042-675X. JSTOR 26445969.
- DeLuzio, Crista (2008). Klapper, Melissa R. (ed.). "Growing up between Two Worlds". Reviews in American History. 36 (4): 566–574. doi:10.1353/rah.0.0048. ISSN 0048-7511. JSTOR 40210963. S2CID 144066973.
- Bush, William S. (2011). Davis, Rocío G.; Fass, Paula S.; Klapper, Melissa R. (eds.). "Childhood without Borders". Journal of American Ethnic History. 30 (4): 63–70. doi:10.5406/jamerethnhist.30.4.0063. ISSN 0278-5927.
- Mintz, Steven (2008). Klapper, Melissa R. (ed.). "Children: The Neglected Actors in the Drama of Immigration". The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. 7 (3): 383–385. doi:10.1017/S1537781400000785. ISSN 1537-7814. JSTOR 25144535. S2CID 163182526.
^
Reviews of Ballots, Babies, and Banners of Peace:
- Dollinger, Marc (2014). "Review of Ballots, Babies, and Banners of Peace: American Jewish Women's Activism, 1890-1940". The American Historical Review. 119 (3): 910–911. doi:10.1093/ahr/119.3.910. ISSN 0002-8762. JSTOR 23784867.
- Antler, Joyce (2014). "Review of Ballots, Babies, and Banners of Peace: American Jewish Women's Activism, 1890–1940, KlapperMelissa R.". American Jewish History. 98 (1): 33–35. ISSN 0164-0178. JSTOR 26414389.
- Moore, Deborah Dash; Thébaud, Françoise (2016). "Review of Ballots, Babies, and Banners of Peace: American Jewish Women's Activism, 1890-1940, Klapper Melissa R.". Clio. Femmes, Genre, Histoire (44): 317–320. ISSN 1252-7017. JSTOR 26265057.
- Rubel, Nora L. (2015). "Review of Ballots, Babies, and Banners of Peace: American Jewish Women's Activism, 1890–1940". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 83 (1): 284–288. doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfu113. ISSN 0002-7189. JSTOR 24488145.
- McCune, Mary (2014). "Review of Ballots, Babies, and Banners of Peace: American Jewish Women's Activism, 1890—1940". The Journal of American History. 100 (4): 1231–1232. doi:10.1093/jahist/jau075. ISSN 0021-8723. JSTOR 44307928.