Juggling identities : identity and authenticity among the Crypto-Jews / Seth D. Kunin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kunin, Seth D. (Seth Daniel), 1961-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Crypto-Jews--New Mexico--History.

Crypto-Jews.

Jews--New Mexico--History.

Jews.

Jews--New Mexico--Identity.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (289 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Juggling Identities is an extensive ethnography of the crypto-Jews who live deep within the Hispanic communities of the American Southwest. Critiquing scholars who challenge the cultural authenticity of these individuals, Seth D. Kunin builds a solid link between the crypto-Jews of New Mexico and their Spanish ancestors who secretly maintained their Jewish identity after converting to Catholicism, offering the strongest evidence yet of their ethnic and religious origins. Kunin adopts a unique approach to the lives of modern crypto-Jews, concentrating primarily on their understanding of Jewish tradition and the meaning they ascribe to ritual. He illuminates the complexity of this community, in which individuals and groups perform the same practice in diverse ways. Kunin supplements his ethnographic research with broader theories concerning the nature of identity and memory, which is especially applicable to crypto-Jews, whose culture resides mainly in memory. Kunin's work has wider implications, not only for other forms of crypto-Judaism (such as that found in the former Soviet Union) but also for the study of Judaism's fluid nature, which helps adherents adapt to new circumstances and knowledge. Kunin draws fascinating comparisons between the intricate ancestry of crypto-Jews and those of other ethnic communities living in the United States.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

One. Diversity and Complexity

Two. The Case Against the Authenticity of Crypto- Judaism in New Mexico

Three. The Case for the Authenticity of Crypto- Judaism in New Mexico

Four. Ideal Types of Crypto- Jewish Identity

Five. Crypto- Jewish Practice

Six. A Postmodern Take on Crypto- Judaism

Conclusion

Theoretical Appendix. (Neo)- Structuralism

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780231512572

0231512570

OCLC:

826476356