Antisemitism and the White Supremacist Imaginary

Description

In Antisemitism and the White Supremacist Imaginary: Conflations and Contradictions in Composition and Rhetoric, Mara Lee Grayson calls attention to the complicity of academic institutions and the discipline(s) of rhetoric, composition, and writing studies in the simultaneous perpetuation and denial of anti-Jewish racism. Despite the persistence of antisemitism and Christian hegemony in the United States and its academic institutions, and despite a growing body of antiracist and anti-oppressive scholarship, antisemitism remains largely unaddressed in disciplinary scholarship, curricula, and pedagogy. This book begins to fill that gap by exploring how the rhetoric through which Jewish identity is conceptualized and weaponized by the white supremacist imaginary essentializes Jewish identities and obscures the racist aims and character of antisemitism. Drawing upon rhetorical analysis, personal narrative, and original phenomenological research, Grayson highlights how deeply embedded antisemitic ideologies impact the lived experiences of Jewish teachers, students, and scholars, and perpetuate white supremacy. This book illuminates the experiential, rhetorical, historical, political, and racial dynamics of antisemitism, exposes the limitations of existing discourses of whiteness and (anti)racism, and gestures toward a future in which, through more nuanced and productive discourse, we can better support Jewish educators and students and better engage Jewish members of the discipline as accomplices in antiracism. "I take this book personally. Grayson's theoretical framework, historical overview, personal anecdotes, and phenomenological research locate antisemitism nestled in the heart of the white supremacist imaginary. I felt such sadness, anger, and pain reading this book--recognizing myself as a Jew in its stark reflection--and yet her words also charge me, explicitly in my Jewishness, with the urgent need to join others in imagining a more just world through cooperative action and frank dialogue. It's a powerful and vibrant contribution to our field." --Eli Goldblatt, Co-Author, with David Jolliffe, of Literacy as Conversation: Learning Networks in Urban and Rural Communities "In this timely and important monograph, Dr. Grayson adroitly explains the impact of antisemitism not only for rhetoric, composition, and writing scholars and students but also our contemporary moment. In lucid and engaging prose, she unpacks thousands of years of history and tropes, making this book a must-read for anyone engaged in antiracist work." --Janice W. Fernheimer, Zantker Professor of Jewish Studies, Professor of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies, University of Kentucky Cover HalfTitle Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Introduction At the Intersection of Whiteness and Jewishness The Reemergence and Mainstreaming of Antisemitism What This Book Does and Doesn’t Do Conceptual Frameworks and Original Research Overview of Chapters A Brief Note on Terminology A Warning References 1 Jewish Whiteness, Christian Hegemony, and Disciplinary (Mis)Representation Jewish Representation and Christian Privilege Talking about Antisemitism in the Context of Antiracism References 2 The Antisemitic Imaginary White Privilege and Jewish Liminality White Supremacy and the Social Imaginary Social Reality and the Imaginary Habitus and White Christian Hegemony Rhetorical and Political Roles of Social Imaginaries Shifting Shape(s) of the Antisemitic Imaginary The Christianity of Racial Discourse Rhetorical Tropes and Strategies of Antisemitism References 3 The Racialization of Jewish People in the United States The Conceptual Whiteness of Diverse U.S. Jews When Jewish People Were Not White When Ashkenazi Jews Became White The Holocaust and the White Supremacist Imaginary The Limitations of Jewish Whiteness References 4 On Being Jewish: Existing and Original Research Jewish Voices and Perspectives in Disciplinary Journals Researching Jewish Experience A Jewish Phenomenological Framework Moving “through” Phenomenology Research Questions Methods of Data Collection Participants Explication and Presentation of Data References 5 Difference and Defense: Experiences of Jewish Identity in a Christian Hegemonic Society Models of Jewish Identity Ways to “Be Jewish” in the United States Jewish Experiences of Self-Identity Experiences of Jewish Identification Jewish Identity as Difference The Impact of Geographic Location on Feelings of Difference Jewishness as Different from Christian Whiteness Jewish Identity as Defense Defending One’s Practices Defending Against Antisemitism Defense as a Response to Intergenerational Trauma References 6 Antisemitism in the Profession: Contemporary Manifestations and Microaggressions Microaggressions and the Covert Pervasiveness of Antisemitism Swastikas, Ostracism, and Other Microassaults Devaluing Jewish People and Perspectives: Microinsults Scheduling and Christian Hegemony Devaluation of Jewish-Centered Teaching, Research, and Service Microinvalidations Institutions Overlooking Overt Antisemitism Excluding Jewish People from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Where Do Jewish People Fit in the Academy? References 7 The “Bizarre” Absence of Jewish Discourse in Rhetoric and Composition Jewish (Mis)Communication? Jewish Discourse The Distinctively Jewish Linguistic Repertoire Conversational Patterns of Jewish English Discourse as a Central Part of Jewish Identity Connections between Jewish Discourse and Participants’ Academic Identities Storytelling Jewish Storytelling as Distinct from Western Storytelling Critical Inquiry Overlooking Jewish Discourses in RCWS Silences in Scholarship Silences in the Classroom Tone-Policing Jewish Discourse References 8 Talking about Israel, (Anti)Zionism, and the Politicization of Jewish Identity Super-Whiteness and the Conflation of Israel and Jewish Identity Conflating Jewish People with the Nation-State of Israel Conflations in Zionism Conflations in Anti-Zionism Presenting Oneself as a ‘Good Jew’ Political Criticism or Antisemitism in Disguise? Politicization and the Maintenance of the White Supremacist Imaginary Note References 9 Resisting the Whitewashing of Jewish Identity: Finding Our Space(s) and Place(s) in the Field Orienting the Jewish Body Limited Awareness of Jewish Racialization Conceptual and Epistemological Gatekeeping Understanding Antisemitism as Anti-Jewish Racism Rejecting the Mask of Whiteness Toward a Nuanced, Historicized Understanding of Jewish Identity and Antisemitism References