Page 36 of Books Spring 2008 by SUNY Press

jewish studies fackenheim and responses to the holocaust the philosopher as witness fackenheim and responses to the holocaust michael l morgan and benjamin pollock editors responses to fackenheim s reflections on the centrality of the holocaust to philosophy jewish thought and contemporary experience new in paper american the cultural work of jewish american fiction ezra cappell talmud american talmud the cultural work of jewish american fiction ezra cappell looks at the role of jewish american fiction in the larger context of american culture edited by michael l morgan and benjamin pollock mil fackenheim 1916­2003 one of the most important jewish philosophers of the twentieth century called on the world at large not only to bear witness to the holocaust as an unprecedented assault on judaism and on humanity but also to recognize that the question of what it means to philosophize indeed what it means to be human must be raised anew in its wake the philosopher as witness begins with two recent essays written by fackenheim himself and includes responses to the questions that fackenheim posed to philosophy judaism and humanity after the holocaust the contributors to this book dare to extend that questioning through a critical examination of fackenheim s own thought and through an exploration of some of the ramifications of his work for fields of study and realms of religious life that transcend his own contributors edward alexander seattle wa david r blumenthal emory u richard a cohen unc charlotte emil fackenheim new york ny gershon greenberg american u solomon goldberg ontario coll warren zev harvey hebrew u of jerusalem franklin h littell richard stockton coll of nj zeev mankowitz hebrew u of jerusalem michael l morgan in u bloomington david patterson u of memphis benjamin pollock mi state u susan e shapiro u of ma amherst david silberklang u of jerusalem mount scopus israel catherine h zuckert u of notre dame e in american talmud ezra cappell redefines the genre of jewish american fiction and places it squarely within the larger context of american literature cappell departs from the conventional approach of defining jewish american authors solely in terms of their ethnic origins and sociological constructs and instead contextualizes their fiction within the theological heritage of jewish culture by deliberately emphasizing historical and ethnographic links to religions religious texts and traditions cappell demonstrates that twentieth-century and contemporary jewish american fiction writers have been codifying a new talmud an american talmud and argues that the literary production of jews in america might be seen as one more stage of rabbinic commentary on the scriptural inheritance of the jewish people the question of the jewishness of jewish american writers is the central question of the genre and cappell tackles this question head on cappell s incisive wise and utterly convincing examination of the theological underpinnings of the contemporary jewish american imagination will surely have to be reckoned with as it cuts against the grain of much contemporary literary criticism in the field andrew furman author of israel through the jewish-american imagination a survey of jewish-american literature on israel 1928­1995 with both authority and a rare kind of scholarly clarity cappell connects the issues of jewish modernity identity memory nature of evil role of god in history between talmud and postmodernity in america this book not only makes the case for the continuing habit of jewish american writers to revisit their religious archives but also for cultural studies to include the sedimentation of religious culture in its historicizing of american culture gloria l cronin coeditor of jewish american and holocaust literature representation in the postmodern world january · 233 pp $24.95 pb 978-0-7914-7124-1 address[es in an astonishingly thought-provoking and coherent way central and urgent themes in contemporary philosophy theology history literature judaism and christianity kenneth hart green editor of jewish philosophy and the crisis of modernity michael l morgan is chancellor s professor of philosophy and jewish studies at indiana university he is the author and editor of many books including a holocaust reader responses to the nazi extermination and beyond auschwitz post-holocaust jewish thought in america benjamin pollock is assistant professor of religious studies at michigan state university a volume in the suny series in contemporary jewish thought richard a cohen editor may · 224 pp $65.00 hc 978-0-7914-7455-6 34 1-800-666-2211

[close]