Buies Creek–Dr. James Martin, chair of Campbell University’s Government, History and Justice Department, reviewed the book “Jewish Life in Small-Town America: A History” by Lee Shai Weissbach for the “American Jewish Archives Journal.”A scholar in the field of the Jewish history of North Carolina, Martin called the book a “magisterial work.””The sheer volume of material that Weissbach has collected and analyzed boggles the imagination,” Martin said. “He perused seemingly innumerable census records, narratives, interviews and manuscripts. His lucid prose makes a volume that is both readable and difficult to put down.”A native of Homestead, Pa., Martin graduated cum laude from Duke University and received a master’s degree from East Carolina University. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in history from Emory University. Prior to coming to Campbell in 1991, Martin taught social studies and coached at James Kenan High School in Warsaw, N.C. He also served as an adjunct professor at Mount Olive and Sampson Community colleges.Martin’s research interests include ethno history and social studies education. He joined scholars around the state to participate in a symposium in connection with a special exhibit on North Carolina’s Jewish heritage and is working on a book on small-town Jewish life in North Carolina. His article, “Expectations of Postsecondary History Instructors in North Carolina and California,” was published in “The History Teacher,” a professional journal published by the Society of History Education. Martin was voted Campbell University Professor of the Year in 2005 and was awarded a Director’s Fellowship by the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati in 2004.
Martin reviews book on small-town Jewish life