Like many Jews of our generation; Jon Stratton grew up in a family more concerned about assimilation than about preserving Jewish tradition. While he could easily pass among non-Jews; he found himself increasingly torn between his fear of not belonging and a deeply-felt commitment to his familys past.Coming Out Jewish examines the unique challenge of constructing an identity amid the clash between ethnicity and conformity. For many Jews; the idea of full assimilation ended with the Holocaust. But the pressure to adapt to the mainstream; Stratton eloquently argues; remains powerful; especially for those with anglicized names; assimilationist parents; a history of recent immigration; or ambivalent experiences of themselves as Jews. With reference to the work of Daniel Boyarin; Ien Ang; and Homi Bhabha; among others; Stratton offers fresh analysis on a wide range of topics; including the Jewish origins of pluralism in the US; anti-Semitism in Germany; the Jewishness of sitcoms like Seinfeld; and the Yiddishization of American culture since World War II.More than a book about Jews and Jewishness; Coming Out Jewish smartly and accurately mines the Jewish experience in the West to give voice to the issues of migration; Diaspora; assimilation and identity that affect those; displaced and othered; around the world.
#3103702 in eBooks 2003-09-02 2003-09-02File Name: B000OT85Z4
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. A Rough Read. The Ideas Do Not Flow Well.By GabrielleThis book is not awful but not great. If you can focus hard and think deeply; you might love it. It has great insight into the philosophy behind photography and what exactly it is or is not; or how it may or may not be viewed. It primarily fails to keep the focus of the reader. The authors thought processes can be difficult to follow all the way through. You get the point if you keep reading; but its difficult to get to that point. I have to read this book for a class and I often find myself having to go back and re-read paragraphs after I finish them so I can piece everything in the middle together.16 of 16 people found the following review helpful. Philosophical and Dense; Slightly Out of DateBy JDDThis book is mostly about photographys place in the world; how it relates to other arts; and the long-lasting question of whether it can be conceived of as an art. Also; there are good discussions about whether photography is or is not evidence and whether it is or is not a truthful representation. In other words; this is mostly a book about the philosophy of photography; if you will. And; while short; its dense and full of discussion.The books largest flaw is that it glosses over digital photography until the end. For a book published in 2006; this may or may not be acceptable. But; then when the treatment of digital photography does come in a final chapter; that chapter is too simplified at best and verges on incorrect at worst. For example; at one point; the author indicates that it is impossible to detect tampering with an image. While its true that digital technologies do make wholesale manipulation difficult to detect with the human eye; thats long been the case in photography. In the realm of the digital; there is a lot of work that has gone into algorithms that can detect manipulation. Also; if one is really interested in verifying that a photo is authentic for news purposes; Canon and Nikon (and maybe others) do have software solutions that rely on cryptographic signing to authenticate an image was made with a particular camera at a particular time and whether it was modified. With an attached GPS feed; even location data can be verified.Still; even with a few glaring issues which seem to be the result of revising the text over time; the book is a thought provoking read. Id have given 4 stars except for the poor treatment of digital technology in photography.One further note for the Kindle edition; the font used is inconsistent and not as pleasant to read as the default font used by most of the other Kindle books Ive read so far. There are several places where letters are broken. Its simply not as pleasant a read as other books from a font perspective.11 of 11 people found the following review helpful. A great introductionBy M. JenkinsonI really like this book and I am considering making it mandatory for my freshman photo students at NYU.Edwards does a fantastic job of covering the major movements and critical theories in photography without endorsing any one in particular. Its a slim little book can be stashed in a camera bag (easily lost; I am ordering my second copy) and read in bite sized nuggets.The best part is that he encourages further study by giving you just enough to be interested and then want more.Its true that its a bit dated; but as someone who writes about photography; I can attest to the fact that it is fairly impossible to keep up with technology that is progressing so quickly. My last book was outdated before it hit the shelves.Use this book to establish a framework for the history of photography; then dig deeper on your own