Alina Polyak – författare

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1, University of Frankfurt (Main), language: English, abstract: During the semester we read a lot of texts by different authors. There were a lot of questions that we raised in class about race, gender, identity and religion. We found out that there was a lot of prejudice on both the Black and the Jewish side. It was important for me to know whether it is possible to unite both black and Jewish parts of one's identity or one has to give up one part of his or her heritage in favour of the other. In my paper I would like to try to find out if there is a contradiction in being both black and Jewish from the point of view of Jewish religion. I want to try to show that there is no contradiction to be found and that the prejudice against people of colour does not come from the Jewish tradition.

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Frankfurt (Main), course: Contemporary american novels, language: English, abstract: Comparison of three novels: : "e;The Time of our Singing"e; by Richard Powers, "e;Namesake"e; by Jhumpa Lahiri and "e;Middlesex"e; by Jeffrey Eugenides. The authors, sharing the common cultural space, share also similar experiences and face similar problems. Coming from quite different backgrounds they might have more in common than it could seem at a first glance.

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, Tel Aviv University (Department of English), course: Jewish American Autobiography, language: English, abstract: In my paper I would like to compare two books which are written by women immigrants and which belong to the same historical period. These are "e;The Promised Land"e; by Mary Antin and "e;Out of the Shadow"e; by Rose Cohen. The authors, sharing the common cultural space, also share similar experiences and face similar problems. Although they have completely different destinies and live in different places, they might have more in common than it could seem at a first glance.

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, Tel Aviv University (Department of English), course: American Women Writers after World War II, language: English, abstract: I decided to write about the two first generation immigrant novels because I felt that as a woman and a first generation immigrant, I could in a way identify with the protagonists and respond to the problems raised by both authors. The authors, sharing the common cultural space, also share similar experiences and face similar problems. Coming from quite different backgrounds they might have more in common than it would seem at a first glance. In the age of globalization migration has become a world wide issue. Its problems spread from traditionally immigrant countries, like the United States and Canada to Europe. Refugees from the Third World countries fill the pages of magazines and cannot be ignored in cities throughout the world. In this paper I would like to see what problems are raised, what are similarities or differences between the ideas represented in the novels and how autobiographical features influenced the writing.

Essay from the year 2006 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, Tel Aviv University (Department of English), course: Place in modern American literature, language: English, abstract: I have decided to write my paper about Jewish New York and in particular the Lower East Side because it is a very important place in the history of Jewish America. This is a place which is inseparable from general American history, because it was influenced and shaped by immigrant culture. Jewish and American cultures merged and influenced each other on different levels. The Jews in America had more freedom than anywhere else in the world, Anti-Semitism was milder and could not be compared to its Eastern European form. The English language was influenced by Yiddish, and Yiddish absorbed English words and expressions. New York became the gateway for immigrants at the end of the nineteenth century.

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1, University of Frankfurt (Main), course: Cross-cultural translation, language: English, abstract: In this paper I would like to explore how the Jewish tradition is represented in modern Jewish American feminist women's fiction. I chose as examples Marge Piercy's novel "e;He, She and It"e; and Cynthia Ozick's story "e; Putermesser and Xanthippe"e; from "e;The Putermesser Papers"e;. The attitude towards Judaism has changed significantly since the beginning of immigrant women s writing at the threshold of the 20th century when writers like Anzia Yezierska or Mary Antin began new lives in the New World. In order to enter the American society and become successful they seemed to have no choice but to completely shed their Jewish roots, get rid of their Yiddish accent (at least in writing) and also part with the Jewish way of thinking. Especially as women, they received unheard-of opportunities in the New World; they wanted to become American as quickly as possible and the new identity required getting rid of the old. Judaism was out of fashion not only in literature but in general according to Hasja Diner, in the late 1920 s, 80 percent of young Jews living in New York had no knowledge of Hebrew letters and no religious training. (344). Beginning with the second half of the 20th century till today the development seems to go in the direction of embracing one s heritage.

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1-, Frankfurt, course: black and jewish women writers, language: English, abstract: During the semester we read a lot of texts by different authors. There were a lot of questions that we raised in class about race, gender, identity and religion. We found out that there was a lot of prejudice on both the Black and the Jewish side. It was important for me to know whether it is possible to unite both black and Jewish parts of one's identity or one has to give up one part of his or her heritage in favour of the other. In my paper I would like to try to find out if there is a contradiction in being both black and Jewish from the point of view of Jewish religion. I want to try to show that there is no contradiction to be found and that the prejudice against people of colour does not come from the Jewish tradition. As a Jew it is important to me to try to understand why many partners in interracial relationships were rejected by their families, what played the most important role the race or the religion, and why many of them felt compelled to throw away their Judaism. Why could not they be both black and Jewish? Is it only the race issue that made them abandon their Judaism, or was it only a kind of justification or excuse? When parents refused to keep contact with their children was it because of race or because they were marrying a Gentile person? Would there be any difference if the non Jewish person were white? Would it hurt less? Or maybe it would be easier to hide?On the other hand, there are plenty of examples of Black converts to Judaism. It is very hard to convert and for a black person even harder so what makes them do it?I do not hope to answer all the questions that I have raised but I would like at least to touch some of the points in this sensitive issue.

Essay from the year 2006 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1, Tel Aviv University Department of English (Tel Aviv University Department of English), course: Place in modern American literature, language: English, abstract: New York became the gateway for immigrants at the end of the nineteenth century. According to Rischin, by 1900 immigrants constituted over 76 % of the city's population. It was the time of the mass exodus of Jews from Eastern Europe. One third of the Jewish population tried to escape poverty and pogroms coming to America. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the Lower East Side became the center of the Jewish population. It represents a whole era and a certain type of life, which its name evokes. "e;The name "e;Lower East Side"e; contains meaning that is automatically understood by all as distinctive, replete with a set of icons associated with it..."e; (Diner, p. 31). At this time the Lower East Side was an exotic place, which was closed to strangers. Its inhabitants were sealed off from the rest of American world.

Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2009 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 2, University of Frankfurt (Main), language: English, abstract: In der Magisterarbeit handelt es sich um die Rolle der Religion in der modernen jüdisch-amerikanischen Literatur. Die Suche nach den Wurzeln ist ein Trend in der amerikanischen Gesellschaft geworden. Dieser Trend widerspiegelt sich auch in Kunst und Literatur. Die Gesellschaft wandelt sich von einem “Schmelztiegel” in eine multiethnische und multikulturelle Gesellschaft. Viele Autoren wenden sich in ihren Werken an die Kultur ihrer Vorfahren. Die jüdisch-amerikanische Literatur ist auch ein Beispiel hierfür. Es ist fast unmöglich, die Kultur von der Religion zu trennen, denn wenn es sich um jüdische Themen handelt, geht es um die Kultur, die eng mit der jüdischen Religion verbunden ist. Judentum ist eine Religion, die mit Zeit und Geschichte eng verbunden ist. Selbst wenn Autoren sich mit säkularen Themen beschäftigen, gibt es trotzdem eine Anbindung an die religiöse Problematik. Viele moderne Werke sind von Autoren geschrieben, die fundiertes Wissen vom Judentum haben, sie benutzen oft jüdische Sprachen, Figuren aus der Folklore und religiöse Ideen. Es gibt einen großen Unterschied zwischen den frühen Werken von Immigranten und den modernen Werken der amerikanisch-jüdischen Autoren der dritten Generation. Während die Immigrantenautoren sich bemüht haben, sich so schnell wie möglich zu assimilieren und die Welt der Väter hinter sich zu lassen, haben die jüngsten Autoren in ihren Werken die jüdischen Themen neu entdeckt. Für die Autoren der ersten Generation war das Erlernen der englischen Sprache sehr wichtig. Die Autoren von heute haben Englisch als Muttersprache. Sie schreiben zwar auf Englisch, benutzen aber sehr häufig Begriffe oder Ausdrücke, die nicht erklärt oder übersetzt sind aus den jüdischen Sprachen Hebräisch und Jiddisch. Jüdische Literatur war immer multilingual. Hebräisch ist die Sprache der Liturgie und Jiddisch ist die Sprache des Europäischen Judentums. Nach dem Holocaust wurden die meisten Sprecher des Jiddischen ausgerottet. Das ist der Grund, warum Jiddisch heute eine Rolle der “heiligen Sprache” spielt und in dieser Hinsicht an die Stelle des Hebräischen rückt. Das moderne Hebräisch ist die Staatssprache Israels und hat die Position der Alltagssprache genommen.