Mashey Bernstein papers, 1959-2008, bulk 1959-1993

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Summary

Creators:
Bernstein, Mashey Maurice, 1946-
Abstract:
This collection consists of the diaries, correspondence, and other materials, of writer, teacher, literature and film critic Mashey Bernstein (1946-).
Extent:
1.67 Linear Feet (4 document boxes)
Language:
English, Hebrew.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Mashey Bernstein papers, Mss 355. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of the diaries, correspondence, and other materials, of writer, teacher, literature and film critic Mashey Bernstein (1946-). The thirty-five spiral-bound diaries, comprising the bulk of the collection, span a period of thirty-two years, and cover three themes: Place, Religion (Judaism), and Sexuality.

Correspondence includes aerogrammes (outgoing) to family ("Ma," "Pa," "Om" and others) in Dublin, Ireland, written by Bernstein during his years in Israel (1965-1966); letters (incoming) to Bernstein from Rabbi A. Gurwitz of County Durham, England, on the orthodox Jewish response to being gay (1972).

Other materials include newsletters, bulletins, reviews, programs, and clippings from Bernstein's years at Trinity College, Dublin, and clippings from Jewish Film World (2007-2008). Newsletters and bulletins include Chadashot, Dublin Jewish Student's Union, Jewish Student Review, Loshin Horror, and Dublin Jewish News (1965-1973). High school material comprises a small selection of English Composition notebooks (1959-1965).

Biographical / historical:

Mashey Bernstein (1946-) grew up in an orthodox Jewish home in Dublin Ireland, and attended Trinity College, where he earned his degree in English language and literature, and a diploma in Education. Bernstein was deeply involved in Jewish student and community organizations, and wrote for both college and community publications. Bernstein spent time in Israel from 1965 to 1966, and moved to the United States on a scholarship, where he received his MA and Ph.D. in American Literature (with special emphasis on the works of Norman Mailer) from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1978.

Bernstein was Education Director at Kehilath Israel Synagogue, in Kansas City. Bernstein taught at the University of Michigan and returned to the University of California, Santa Barbara, to teach in the Writing Program. During his time at UCSB, he led a film studies class to the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado.

With numerous articles published in literary and academic journals, including The Mailer Review, Studies in Jewish American Literature, The San Francisco Review of Books, and the London Jewish Chronicle, Bernstein received a Simon Rockower award for Excellence in Jewish Journalism. Much of Bernstein's writing has been on Norman Mailer, a friend with whom he corresponded from 1978 to 2007, the year of Mailer's death. Topics of that correspondence included religion (Judaism), literature, and sexuality. Bernstein also corresponded with Jack Henry Abbott, regarding the latter's interest in converting to Judaism. Bernstein retired from teaching in 2015.

Bernstein was a founding member of Outrageous, a Santa Barbara-based Gay and Lesbian film festival (1995-2015), and served as a co-chair of the Santa Barbara Jewish Film Festival, among numerous other civic, social, and philanthropic engagements related to the arts, Judaism and the Jewish Community, and the Gay and Lesbian Community in Santa Barbara. Bernstein curated a special sidebar on Israeli cinema for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Bernstein was recognized in 2013 by the Santa Barbara Independent as a Local Hero for his work with Outrageous.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Mashey Bernstein, 2018, 2022.
Arrangement:

The collection has been divided into the following series: High School, Trinity College, Correspondence, Jewish Film World, and Diaries.

Physical location:
Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and are retained by the creator and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.

All requests to reproduce, quote from, or otherwise reuse collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB at special@ucsb.edu. Consent is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or their assigns for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Mashey Bernstein papers, Mss 355. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Location of this collection:
UC Santa Barbara Library
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
Contact:
(805) 893-3062
special@library.ucsb.edu
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