Title Passing fancies in Jewish American literature and culture / Judith Ruderman

Published Bloomington, Indiana : Indiana University Press, [2019]

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Description 1 online resource Series Jewish literature and culture Jewish literature and culture. Contents Cover; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgments; 1. Jews and Their Complex Identities: "O Brave New World, That Has Such People In't!"; 2. The "Jewish Nose" and the Nose Job in Nathan Englander's The Ministry of Special Cases: "The Most Unkindest Cut of All"; 3. Jewish American Women and the Nose Job: "God Hath Given You One Face, and You Make Yourself Another"; 4. Renaming as a Strategy for Passing in Thyra Samter Winslow's "A Cycle of Manhattan": "A Ros[s] by Any Other Name"; 5. Renaming and Reclaiming: "To Thine Own Self Be True." 6. Jews and Gentiles Becoming the Other: "Neither a Borrower nor a Lender Be"7. Racial Crossings between Jews and Blacks: "That You Might See Your Shadow"; 8. The Use of Clothing in Jewish Passing Narratives: "The Fashion Wears Out More Apparel Than the Man"; 9. In Search of an "Authentic" Jewish American Identity: "Who Is It Who Can Tell Me Who I Am?"; Bibliography; Index; About the Author Summary In Passing Fancies 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, on the one hand, deep engagement with Jewish history and the experiences of the Jewish people, while holding steadfastly, on the other hand, to the understanding that identity is fluid and multivalent. Looking at a carefully chosen set of texts from American literature, Ruderman elaborates on the strategies Jews have used to "pass" from the late 19th 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 Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Online resource; title from PDF title page (EBSCO, viewed January 2, 2018) Subject American literature -- Jewish authors -- History and criticism Jews -- United States -- Intellectual life Jews -- United States -- Social life and customs Jews -- United States -- Identity Jews in literature. LITERARY CRITICISM -- American -- General. LITERARY CRITICISM -- Jewish. American literature -- Jewish authors Jews -- Identity Jews in literature Jews -- Intellectual life Jews -- Social life and customs United States Genre/Form Criticism, interpretation, etc. Form Electronic book ISBN 9780253036971 0253036976 9780253036995 0253036992

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