Taking S. An-sky's expeditions to the Pale of Jewish Settlement as its point of departure, the volume explores the dynamic and many-sided nature of ethnographic knowledge and the long and complex history of the production and consumption of Jewish folk traditions. These essays by historians, anthropologists, musicologists, and folklorists showcase some of the finest research in the field. They reveal how the collection, analysis, and preservation of ethnography intersect with questions about the construction and delineation of community, the preservation of Jewishness, the meaning of belief, the significance of retrieving cultural heritage, the politics of accessing and memorializing "lost" cultures, and the problem of narration, among other topics.

About the Author

Jeffrey Veidlinger is Joseph Brodsky Collegiate Professor of History and Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan. He is author of In the Shadow of the Shtetl: Small-Town Jewish Life in Soviet Ukraine (IUP), Jewish Public Culture in the Late Russian Empire (IUP), and The Moscow State Yiddish Theater: Jewish Culture on the Soviet Stage (IUP).

Reviews

Overall, Going to the People proves itself a useful addition to scholarship on Jewish folklore and ethnography by introducing major issues in these fi elds, as well as the historical figures and contemporary scholars who have shaped (and continue to shape) their development.

* Western Folklore *

The high scholarly standard of these essays is a remarkable achievement, demonstrating the vitality of Jewish folklore and ethnographic studies a hundred years after An-sky's pioneering expedition.

* Folklore *

This book's essays portray the various threads and trends in Jewish ethnography in Poland and Soviet Russia, the US, the new Jewish State of Israel and, eventually, in postcommunist societies. The endurance and evolution of Jewish folk culture is analyzed using techniques applicable to all groups and communities. . . . Recommended.

* Choice *



Book Information
ISBN 9780253019141
Author Jeffrey Veidlinger
Format Paperback
Page Count 354
Imprint Indiana University Press
Publisher Indiana University Press
Weight(grams) 467g