This book presents a mode by which to discuss and assess Jewish religious participation and religious group membership as a social phenomenon through the lens of social identity theory. It... Show moreThis book presents a mode by which to discuss and assess Jewish religious participation and religious group membership as a social phenomenon through the lens of social identity theory. It includes analyses and discussion of minority groups’ self-perception within broader national contexts, self-esteem as a result of religious group membership, and the dichotomy between religious in-group identity and active belief. If we are able to distinguish ‘belief’ from ‘belonging’ relative to institutional religions, we might better accommodate the needs and values of these groups. This book focuses on a Canadian group of secular Jews, combining quantitative and qualitative methods to illuminate how religious identity, connection and membership affect daily modern life. Show less
In this study I explore literary structures of identity-formation in the works of assimilated/acculturated Jewish writers: Kafka__s novella __The Metamorphosis__ (__Die Verwandlung__, 1912) and... Show moreIn this study I explore literary structures of identity-formation in the works of assimilated/acculturated Jewish writers: Kafka__s novella __The Metamorphosis__ (__Die Verwandlung__, 1912) and David Vogel__s Hebrew novel Married Life. 1929) These authors wrote their works when the failure of Jewish assimilation began to dawn on assimilated/acculturated European Jewry, and an upsurge of hatred of Jews made it, as someone put it: __as impossible to be, as not to be a Jew (by assimilation/ acculturation)__ What I aim to show is that during that deadlock of Jewish identity, new structures of identity began to emerge in the literary works of Jews. Works demonstrating the power not to represent the world of located subjects but to imagine, create and vary affects, that were not already given: not already tied down to communication and signification in the social order. That is what Deleuze and Guattari call minor literature, namely literature that does not add a work to the great tradition but disrupts and dislocates that tradition. Minor literature represents nothing but the power to be different. All great literature, according to Deleuze and Guattari, is minor in this sense: it is the vehicle for the creation rather than the expression of identity Show less
Since the 1980s, a migration has started from the Japanese community in Brazil "back" to Japan. This movement has been studied in recent publications as an interesting example of "return migration"... Show moreSince the 1980s, a migration has started from the Japanese community in Brazil "back" to Japan. This movement has been studied in recent publications as an interesting example of "return migration". This dissertation is based on interviews with migrants of the first and second generation, conducted between 2003 and 2010 in Kandatsu and surroundings. This ethnographic field research shows that the concept of “return” does not properly describe the migration of Japanese Brazilians to Japan, because it is rather a circular movement between the two countries. Moreover, it appears that the identity of these people is an ambivalent dynamic and strategic entity. The study provides important information about the motivation of the migrants, their experiences in Japan, and the challenges they face within and outside the family. It is a very heterogeneous group. Differences in cultural background, appearance, affinity with Japanese culture and Japanese language skills are decisive for the integration process. Within this process migrants handle different strategies that ultimately lead either to a permanent establishment in Japan or a decision to return temporarily or permanently to Brazil. Crucial to the integration process is the success of the Japanese-Brazilian children in Japanese schools. Show less
