Members of the Tribe

Native America in the Jewish Imagination

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Jewish, Native American, Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
Cover of the book Members of the Tribe by Rachel Rubinstein, Wayne State University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Rachel Rubinstein ISBN: 9780814337004
Publisher: Wayne State University Press Publication: March 15, 2010
Imprint: Wayne State University Press Language: English
Author: Rachel Rubinstein
ISBN: 9780814337004
Publisher: Wayne State University Press
Publication: March 15, 2010
Imprint: Wayne State University Press
Language: English
In Members of the Tribe: Native America in the Jewish Imagination, author Rachel Rubinstein examines interventions by Jewish writers into an ongoing American fascination with the "imaginary Indian." Rubinstein argues that Jewish writers represented and identified with the figure of the American Indian differently than their white counterparts, as they found in this figure a mirror for their own anxieties about tribal and national belonging. Through a series of literary readings, Rubinstein traces a shifting and unstable dynamic of imagined Indian-Jewish kinship that can easily give way to opposition and, especially in the contemporary moment, competition. In the first chapter, "Playing Indian, Becoming American," Rubinstein explores the Jewish representations of Indians over the nineteenth century, through narratives of encounter and acts of theatricalization. In chapter 2, "Going Native, Becoming Modern," she examines literary modernism’s fascination with the Indian-poet and a series of Yiddish translations of Indian chants that appeared in the modernist journal Shriftn in the 1920s. In the third chapter, "Red Jews," Rubinstein considers the work of Jewish writers from the left, including Tillie Olsen, Michael Gold, Nathanael West, John Sanford, and Howard Fast, and in chapter 4, "Henry Roth, Native Son," Rubinstein focuses on Henry Roth’s complicated appeals to Indianness. The final chapter, "First Nations," addresses contemporary contestations between Jews and Indians over cultural and territorial sovereignty, in literary and political discourse as well as in museum spaces. As Rubinstein considers how Jews used the figure of the Indian to feel "at home" in the United States, she enriches ongoing discussions about the ways that Jews negotiated their identity in relation to other cultural groups. Students of Jewish studies and literature will enjoy the unique insights in Members of the Tribe.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
In Members of the Tribe: Native America in the Jewish Imagination, author Rachel Rubinstein examines interventions by Jewish writers into an ongoing American fascination with the "imaginary Indian." Rubinstein argues that Jewish writers represented and identified with the figure of the American Indian differently than their white counterparts, as they found in this figure a mirror for their own anxieties about tribal and national belonging. Through a series of literary readings, Rubinstein traces a shifting and unstable dynamic of imagined Indian-Jewish kinship that can easily give way to opposition and, especially in the contemporary moment, competition. In the first chapter, "Playing Indian, Becoming American," Rubinstein explores the Jewish representations of Indians over the nineteenth century, through narratives of encounter and acts of theatricalization. In chapter 2, "Going Native, Becoming Modern," she examines literary modernism’s fascination with the Indian-poet and a series of Yiddish translations of Indian chants that appeared in the modernist journal Shriftn in the 1920s. In the third chapter, "Red Jews," Rubinstein considers the work of Jewish writers from the left, including Tillie Olsen, Michael Gold, Nathanael West, John Sanford, and Howard Fast, and in chapter 4, "Henry Roth, Native Son," Rubinstein focuses on Henry Roth’s complicated appeals to Indianness. The final chapter, "First Nations," addresses contemporary contestations between Jews and Indians over cultural and territorial sovereignty, in literary and political discourse as well as in museum spaces. As Rubinstein considers how Jews used the figure of the Indian to feel "at home" in the United States, she enriches ongoing discussions about the ways that Jews negotiated their identity in relation to other cultural groups. Students of Jewish studies and literature will enjoy the unique insights in Members of the Tribe.

More books from Wayne State University Press

Cover of the book Designing Detroit by Rachel Rubinstein
Cover of the book Broken Symmetry by Rachel Rubinstein
Cover of the book Henry’s Attic by Rachel Rubinstein
Cover of the book Comparative Perspectives on Judaisms and Jewish Identities by Rachel Rubinstein
Cover of the book A Pocketful of Passage by Rachel Rubinstein
Cover of the book Bernard Malamud by Rachel Rubinstein
Cover of the book Where the Boys Are: Cinemas of Masculinity and Youth by Rachel Rubinstein
Cover of the book Marvelous Geometry by Rachel Rubinstein
Cover of the book The Colored Car by Rachel Rubinstein
Cover of the book Arab Detroit 9/11 by Rachel Rubinstein
Cover of the book Seasonal Roads by Rachel Rubinstein
Cover of the book Yiddishlands by Rachel Rubinstein
Cover of the book Monty Python's Flying Circus by Rachel Rubinstein
Cover of the book These Men Have Seen Hard Service by Rachel Rubinstein
Cover of the book A Jew in the Public Arena by Rachel Rubinstein
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy