Passing Fancies in Jewish American Literature and Culture (eBook)

1. This book takes on the question of passing and who is or isn't identified as a Jew. This is an important topic to those who study Jewish religious identity and authenticity, material culture, as well as gender and sexuality. The book explores questions in wide currency today: what constitutes an "authentic" identity and who has the "right" to assume a particular identity.

2. The book is a timely exploration of questions in wide currency today: what constitutes an "authentic" identity and who has the "right" to assume a particular identity. It responds to the troubling issue of minorities' comfort level in the current political and cultural climate in America.

3. The author is a seasoned scholar of literature and culture. She has written widely on Jewish topics throughout her long career.

While traversing racial and religious identities has always been a feature of America's nation of immigrants, Ruderman shows how the complexities of identity formation and deformation are critically relevant during this important cultural moment.

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This scholarly study explores the conflicting forces of assimilation and cultural heritage in literary portrayals of Jewish American identity.In Passing Fancies in Jewish American Literature and Culture Judith Ruderman takes on the fraught question of who passes for Jewish in American literature and culture. In today's contemporary political climate, religious and racial identities are being reconceived as responses to culture and environment, rather than essential qualities. Many Jews continue to hold conflicting ideas about their identity?seeking deep engagement with Jewish history and the experiences of the Jewish people while holding steadfastly to the understanding that identity is fluid and multivalent.Looking at carefully chosen texts from American literature, Ruderman elaborates on the strategies Jews have used to "e;pass"e; from the late nineteenth century to the present?nose jobs, renaming, clothing changes, religious and racial reclassification, and even playing baseball. While traversing racial and religious identities has always been a feature of America's nation of immigrants, Ruderman shows how the complexities of identity formation and deformation are critically relevant during this important cultural moment.