| Meditations on Jewish Creative Identity: Representations of the Jewish Artist in the Works of German-Jewish Writers from Heine to Feuchtwanger Contributor(s): Ferstenberg, Helen (Author), Sammons, Jeffrey L. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0820469629 ISBN-13: 9780820469621 Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing OUR PRICE: $38.90 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: January 2004 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | European - German - Religion | Judaism - General |
| Dewey: 830.935 |
| LCCN: 2004040840 |
| Series: North American Studies in 19th-Century German Literature |
| Physical Information: 229 pages |
| Themes: - Religious Orientation - Jewish |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Through an analysis of representations of Jewish artists in the works of German-Jewish writers, this book reveals that the issue of a Jewish creative identity was one of the most explosive aspects of a dual German-Jewish identity. In the shadow of both a widespread anti-Semitic stereotype which denied creativity to Jews and also of increasingly contentious debates in Jewish circles on the proper role of Jewish artists within German culture, German-Jewish writers who portrayed Jewish artists in their works were forced to grapple with some of the most contentious questions of their day: the relative importance of German and Jewish allegiance; the issue of Jewish distinctiveness or its opposite expressed in style, language, and theme; and the viability of a « Jewish participation in German culture. Existing studies sometimes posit Jewish self-hatred or blind attachment to German culture and Enlightenment ideals as characteristic of a broad spectrum of German-Jewish writers. In contrast, this book demonstrates how many German-Jewish writers possessed a profound awareness of cultural conditions and a conscientious desire to integrate the complex demands of a dual identity. |