The University of Wisconsin Press

---

Jewish Studies / Literature & Criticism / Autobiography / Women's Studies

---

 

People of the Book Thirty Scholars Reflect on Their Jewish Identity Jeffrey Rubin-Dorsky and Shelley Fisher Fishkin Wisconsin Studies in Autobiography William L. Andrews, Series Editor "A brave exploration of the link between Jewishness and scholarship, Jewishness and feminism, Jewishness and the passion for the word. A fascinating collection."—Erica Jong A Mark Twain scholar. An African American philosopher. A lesbian feminist literary critic. A Cuban-American anthropologist. A German immigrant to the United States. A professor of English at a Jesuit university. All share their reflections on the interconnectedness of identities and ideas in People of the Book, the first book in which Jewish-American scholars examine how their Jewishness has shaped and influenced their intellectual endeavors, and how their intellectual work has deepened their sense of themselves as Jews. The contributors are highly productive and respected Jewish American scholars, critics, and teachers from departments of English, history, American studies, Romance literature, Slavic studies, art, women's studies, comparative literature, anthropology, Judaic studies, and philosophy. Nearly an equal mix of men and women, the authors of these analytical and autobiographical essays include white Jews and black Jews; orthodox, conservative, reform, and totally secular Jews; Jews by birth and Jews by conversion; past presidents of the Modern Language Association and American Studies Association and young scholars at the start of their careers. "What is fresh and exhilarating about this volume is the articulation of a wide array of very personal views on Jewish identity that are thoughtful, interesting, often moving and inspiring. Most interestingly, they emanate from scholars in secular fields who are uninterested in pleading a cause, staking a claim, organizing a movement, or promoting an agenda, yet whose emotional ties to Jewish peoplehood, values, and ideals are pronounced and eminently worth discovering."—Rabbi Stanley M. Wagner, Center for Judaic Studies, University of Denver Jeffrey Rubin-Dorsky, associate professor of English at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, is the author of Adrift in the Old World: The Psychological Pilgrimage of Washington Irving. Shelley Fisher Fishkin is professor of American Studies and English at the University of Texas, Austin. She is the author of Was Huck Black?: Mark Twain and African-American Voices and From Fact to Fiction: Journalism and Imaginative Writing in America, and co-editor of Listening to Silences: New Essays in Feminist Criticism. Media & bookseller inquiries regarding review copies, events, and interviews can be directed to the publicity department at publicity@uwpress.wisc.edu or (608) 263-0734. (If you want to examine a book for possible course use, please see our Course Books page. If you want to examine a book for possible rights licensing, please see Rights & Permissions.)

June 1996 528 pp.      5 b/w photos     6 x 9 Paper $24.95 s ISBN 978-0-299-15014-3 ADD TO CART

Home | Books | Journals | Events | Textbooks | Authors | Related | Search | Order | Contact

If you have trouble accessing any page in this web site, contact our Web manager. E-mail: webmaster@uwpress.wisc.edu Updated June 17, 2011 © 2011, The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System