Contributions in Ethnic Studies – serie

This is a comprehensive and up-to-date critical examination of cultural diversity in Germanic-speaking societies. It goes beyond ethnic, religious, and gender stereotypes to show minority groups as active participants in German history rather than as passive victims. This collection of critical and theoretical essays seeks to interpret the current philosophical, aesthetic, and literary thinking about diversity in literature and language.The book is divided into four parts: literary analyses of works produced by members of minority populations, linguistic discussions and case studies of minority groups, structures and strategies of discourse and prejudice, and studies of remedies for problems of racism and discrimination. Some of the most significant writers and thinkers in the field have contributed, making this volume of critical concern to scholars and students of German, modern languages, and comparative studies.

“Though Virginia Korrol grew up in the Puerto Rican community in New York City, and though she makes effective use of interviews, this is not a reminiscence of the recent past, but a clearly written study presented in a scientific manner. It focuses on the patterns of community development in Puerto Rican sections of New York. These patterns were influenced by the perpetuation of Puerto Rican customs and traditions, the growth of a business and professional class and, of particular importance, the retention of the Spanish language in the home and in the community. The role of Puerto Rican women in the community and the changes imposed upon them by a new life in the United States is the subject of special emphasis.”–New York History

The authors analyze the rhetorical discourse characteristic of the Chicano protest movement of the sixties and seventies, focusing on four prominent activists, Cesar Chavez, Rodolfo Corky Gonzalez, Jose Angel Gutierrez, and Reies Lopez Tijerina. How these militant spokesmen employed their extensive skill with words is closely examined and analyzed. In the process, much about the nature, function, and meaning of the Chicano protest movement becomes clear. Similarities and differences in their rhetorical styles are discussed, as are their different backgrounds, personalities, goals, audiences, and the issues they addressed. Included is an analysis of the themes, appeals, and symbols they popularized in ther personal vision of what America ought to be for Chicanos. The volume also contains an essay by Jose Angel Gutierrez, an essay on the counter-rhetoric and ideology of other Mexican-American leaders of the time, and a bibliographic essay.

Coalition formation is mounting among Latinos as they acquire greater strength in U.S. politics. This collection of essays is the first complete study of Latino political coalitions. It elaborates on Latino Empowerment: Progress, Problems, and Prospects (Greenwood Press, 1988), an earlier collection by the same editors that studied Latino empowerment in general. The contributors to Latinos and Political Coalitions detail how coalitional politics have become a major avenue of empowerment for the Latino community.The contributors illuminate the historical and cyclical changes in the political life of the Latino community by exploring coalitional politics at all levels and stages: from new coalitions attempting to broaden their power base to established organizational coalitions working to support or defeat legislation. The media, community response, language policy, immigration reform, the labor movement, municipal politics, and voter mobilization are among the topics covered. This collection concludes with theoretical insights about minority group coalitions and offers a comprehensive bibliography. It will be valuable for courses and research in political science, sociology, Chicano studies, and history.

This is the first field study of the kind of lives that the most recent Irish immigrants have in New York City today. Working alongside new Irish illegals, Corcoran learned about their employment problems, their social relationships, and their communities and ties to Ireland. Teachers, and students, readers interested in issues of identity and ethnicity, immigration trends and problems, and the history of the Irish in the United States will enjoy this easy-to-read, first-hand account.

From its beginnings Russia has been a polyethnic society, and so has a long history of dealing with ethnic problems. From its imperial stage through the Soviet years it has experienced the pressures of ethnic assimilation and ethnic nationalism. In recent years, political liberalization and economic turmoil have released pent-up nationalistic and separatist feelings which had lain dormant through the Communist regimes. This study presents an ethnic history of Russia, placing present-day turmoil in the context of Russian history. The authors analyze inter-ethnic relations in Russia and provide a detailed description of the key ethnic groups. They also look at the evolution of ethnic structure and the current ethnopolitical movements in different regions of Russia. Consequently, the study points the way to future inter-ethnic relations in Russia and, indeed, the future of the Russian Federation.

A volume of essays that examine more than 2,000 years of Italian Jewish history, from ancient Rome to contemporary developments concerning assimilation, literature, and the recent trial of a former SS captain implicated in crimes against humanity.The essays make clear that the Italian Jews have a unique history in Europe. A Jewish colony existed in Rome 200 years before the birth of Christ; the Eternal City therefore represents the oldest Jewish community in the Western world. Successive waves of immigrants created dozens of Jewish communities on the peninsula. Depending on the time and the place, Italian Jews could expect tolerance, discrimination, persecution, or outright violence. Still, they fared better than their brethren in other parts of Europe. Because of their long history on the peninsula, the volume covers an astonishing variety of subjects: from legal discrimination and historical sources to Jewish dancing masters in the Renaissance; from architecture to contradictory interpretations of the Holocaust; from the special section on the linguistic and moral power of Primo Levi to child-rearing manuals of 17th-century Livorno. In addition, two Holocaust survivors recount their experiences in an extraordinary section, The Language of the Witness. Engaging essays for scholars, students, and other researchers interested in Italian Studies and the roles the peninsula's Jewish population played through history.

With an ongoing international conference, Jewish humor in recent years has been a subject of serious scholarly inquiry. Most academic publications, however, have been individual works representing a particular thesis or viewpoint, generally on literary aspects. The present collection of essays by scholars from England, France, the United States, Denmark, Israel, and Australia explores characteristics of Jewish humor from a variety of perspectives, including anthropology, literature, psychology, sociology, and religion.Geographically, the work distinguishes between the Jewish humor of Israel and that of the diaspora; historically, it traces Jewish humor to the Bible. The linkages with Judaism and the Yiddish language are explored. Essays deal with the Jewish use of humor in stressful and tragic situations, with self-disparagement in Jewish humor, with anti-semitism and stereotyping, and with Jewish women as the objects of humor. The contributions to world culture of humorists Sholom Aleichem, Woody Allen, Philip Roth, Charlie Chaplin, and numerous contemporary performers are discussed as are the Jewish theorists of humor, including Sigmund Freud, Henri Bergson, and Arthur Koestler. An interdisciplinary book, it will be of interest to students and researchers of Jewish tradition and folklore, Jewish-American literature, American studies, and humor, popular culture, anthropology, psychology, and sociology.