Race, Rights, and Recognition , livre ebook

255

pages

English

Ebooks

2012

Écrit par
Dean Franco

Publié par
Cornell University Press

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255

pages

English

Ebooks

2012

Lire un extrait

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus

Publié par

Cornell University Press

Date de parution

15 juin 2012

EAN13

9780801464010

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

1 Mo

In Race, Rights, and Recognition, Dean J. Franco explores the work of recent Jewish American writers, many of whom have taken unpopular stances on social issues, distancing themselves from the politics and public practice of multiculturalism. While these writers explore the same themes of group-based rights and recognition that preoccupy Latino, African American, and Native American writers, they are generally suspicious of group identities and are more likely to adopt postmodern distancing techniques than to presume to speak for "their people." Ranging from Philip Roth's scandalous 1969 novel Portnoy's Complaint to Gary Shteyngart's Absurdistan in 2006, the literature Franco examines in this book is at once critical of and deeply invested in the problems of race and the rise of multicultural philosophies and policies in America.Franco argues that from the formative years of multiculturalism (1965-1975), Jewish writers probed the ethics and not just the politics of civil rights and cultural recognition; this perspective arose from a stance of keen awareness of the limits and possibilities of consensus-based civil and human rights. Contemporary Jewish writers are now responding to global problems of cultural conflict and pluralism and thinking through the challenges and responsibilities of cosmopolitanism. Indeed, if the United States is now correctly-if cautiously-identifying itself as a post-ethnic nation, it may be said that Jewish writing has been well ahead of the curve in imagining what a post-ethnic future might look like and in critiquing the social conventions of race and ethnicity.

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Publié par

Cornell University Press

Date de parution

15 juin 2012

EAN13

9780801464010

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

1 Mo

Race, Rights, and Recognition

Jewish American Literature since 1969

Dean J. Franco

Cornell University Press Ithaca and London

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.

First published 2012 by Cornell University Press Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Franco, Dean J., 1968– Race, rights, and recognition : Jewish American literature since 1969 / Dean J. Franco. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 9780801450877 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. American literature—Jewish authors—History and criticism. 2. Judaism and literature—United States—History—20th century. 3. Judaism and literature—United States—History—21st century. 4. Jews—United States—Intellectual life. 5. Judaism in literature. 6. Jews in literature. I. Title. PS153.J4F66 2012 810.9'8924—dc23 2011048712

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetablebased, lowVOC inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorinefree, or partly composed of nonwood ﬁbers. For further information, visit our website at www. cornellpress.cornell.edu.

Cloth printing

To Doris and David Franco

Acknowledgments

Contents

Introduction: The Politics and Ethics of Jewish American Literature and Criticism

Part I: Pluralism, Race, and Religion

1.Portnoy’s Complaint:It’s about Race, Not Sex (Even the Sex Is about Race)

2. ReReading Cynthia Ozick: Pluralism, Postmodernism, and the Multicultural Encounter

3. The New, New Pluralism: Religion, Community, and Secularity in Allegra Goodman’sKaaterskill Falls

Part II: Recognition, Rights, and Responsibility 4. Recognition and Effacement in Lore Segal’sHer First American

5. Responsibility Unveiled: Tony Kushner’sHomebody/Kabul

109 139

v i i i C o n t e n t s

6. Globalization’s Complaint: Gary Shteyngart’sAbsurdistanand the Culture of Culture

Epilogue: Less Absurdistan, More Boyle Heights

Notes Bibliography Index

170 193

209 223 233

Acknowledgments

Would you blame me if I said that I chose my topic at least in part based on the colleagues I wanted to read, debate, and share drinks with at hotel bars on the conference circuit? I chose wisely: This book has beneﬁted from an ongoing fouryear conversation with some of the brightest, nicest, most generous scholars I know. For instance, when my conﬁdence ﬂagged while I was writing on Cynthia Ozick, I emailed Ranen OmerSherman, whom I had never met, with a draft of the chapter attached. Ranen re sponded quickly with encouragement and help. Later, I presented a shaky version of the ﬁrst chapter at a symposium at Penn State organized by the inimitable Ben Schreirer; Jeremy Dauber, arguably the star of the sympo sium, offered suggestions and kindly invited me to submit the essay for review atProoftexts.I am grateful to Ranen, Ben, and Jeremy for their early generosity and encouragement. I echo the appreciation of many of my peers here by crediting Jonathan Freedman, whose work has always inspired me, and who is my imagined ideal reader for this book. Jonathan, along with Adam Newton, agreed to be on my MLA panel on Philip Roth

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