JewJew. The word possesses an uncanny power to provoke and unsettle. For millennia, Jew has signified the consummate Other, a persistent fly in the ointment of Western civilization’s grand narratives and cultural projects. Only very recently, however, has Jew been reclaimed as a term of self-identification and pride. With these insights as a point of departure, this book offers a wide-ranging exploration of the key word Jew—a term that lies not only at the heart of Jewish experience, but indeed at the core of Western civilization. Examining scholarly debates about the origins and early meanings of Jew, Cynthia M. Baker interrogates categories like “ethnicity,” “race,” and “religion” that inevitably feature in attempts to define the word. Tracing the term’s evolution, she also illuminates its many contradictions, revealing how Jew has served as a marker of materialism and intellectualism, socialism and capitalism, worldly cosmopolitanism and clannish parochialism, chosen status, and accursed stigma. Baker proceeds to explore the complex challenges that attend the modern appropriation of Jew as a term of self-identification, with forays into Yiddish language and culture, as well as meditations on Jew-as-identity by contemporary public intellectuals. Finally, by tracing the phrase new Jews through a range of contexts—including the early Zionist movement, current debates about Muslim immigration to Europe, and recent sociological studies in the United States—the book provides a glimpse of what the word Jew is coming to mean in an era of Internet cultures, genetic sequencing, precarious nationalisms, and proliferating identities. |
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African American ancestry ancient Andrew Bush Anti-Semitism antiquity Art Spiegelman assertion attributed Badiou become biblical Bunzl century characterized Chicago Christian claims Cohen contemporary context crypto-Jews cultural Daniel Boyarin debate der yid described Diaspora discourse distinction essay ethné ethnic ethnos Europe Europe's new Jews European example Finkielkraut formulation French gender genetic genomic Jew German Gilman Hebrew Hellene Holocaust Ibid identify as Jews Imaginary Jew Ioudaioi Islamophobia Israel Israeli Jabotinsky Jew(s Jewish community Jewish Identity Jewish studies Judaean Judaism Judith Butler juif key words language Lemba Magid means Mendelssohn modern Muslims name Jew Naomi narratives nation nationalist particular Pew Research Center phrase Pinto political population postwar question quoted rabbinic race racial religion religious Ruth Sander Gilman scholars scholarship secular Seidman sense serves Shneer signifier social Stanford story term traditions translation University Press versus women word Jew yehudim Yiddish Yiddish Language yidn York Zionist