The editors of the Jewish Cultural Studies Series (Littman Library of Jewish Civilization) invite submissions of previously unpublished essays between 7 and 9,000 words for a volume on Jewish identity in contemporary, global pop culture.
Edited by Caspar Battegay, Joachim Schlör, and Simon Bronner, the book is projected for a 2016 publication date. Send abstracts of essays and biographical information before June 1, 2014 to caspar.battegay@unibas.ch and j.schloer@soton.ac.uk.
The volume will focus on Jewish popular artists who use images and representations of “Jewishness” in their work. During the past decade, reflections of Jewish cultural practice as well as representations of Jewish identities in pop culture have undergone a change. “Jewishness” a term in need of constant debate and reflection) itself has become a matter of style – in some contexts it is apparently fashionable to be Jewish and maybe also to sound Jewish. For Jews and non-Jews alike, being Jewish is no longer categorically equated with being part of a marginal minority; “Jewishness” has become a universally applicable symbol and, like the African-American identity, an element in a globalized public culture. The crucial aspect of this new perspective on Jewish identities and pop culture is the transcultural dimension: In the global context of pop culture Jews are no longer the paradigmatic minority opposite to Christianity, but part of a multi- and transcultural universe. The editors invite authors to analyze the different and shifting meanings of Jewish identity in pop culture by investigating newly emerging images of “Jewishness” around the globe .
For more information about the book project please contact caspar.battegayATunibas.ch or j.schloerATsoton.ac.uk.