How Jewish is Jewish History?

Abstract

This book treats the key questions that postmodernism raises for the writing of Jewish history. What is the relationship between Jewish culture and history and those of the non-Jews among whom Jews live? Can we — in the light of postmodernist thought — speak of a continuous, coherent Jewish People, with a distinct culture and history? What in fact is Jewish cultural history, and how can it be written? How does gender transform the Jewish historical narrative? How does Jewish history fit into the multicultural paradigm? Has Jewish history entered a postmodern phase? How can Jewish history utilize the methodologies of other disciplines to accomplish its task? All these are questions that Jewish historians need to think about. While engaging with the questions raised by postmodernists, the book adopts a critical stance towards their work. The book's basic claim is that it is possible to incorporate, judiciously, postmodern innovations into historical scholarship that is still based on documentary research and critical analysis. The resulting endeavour might be termed ‘a reformed positivism’. The book presents an argument as to what considerations must be brought to bear on the writing of Jewish history today. By highlighting the issues raised by postmodernism, the book provides those in the field with a foundation from which to discuss how it should be practiced in light of this generation's challenges.

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