Expressions of Collective Identity in Commonwealth Yiddish Literature

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

While the discussion of identity in Yiddish literature has become increasingly wide-ranging and inclusive over the last 40 years, much of that research has focused on literature written in Eastern Europe or the US. The literature produced by diasporic communities in Commonwealth nations is too often overlooked due to its perceived distance from the main centres of Yiddish literature and culture in New York, Vilnius and Warsaw. However, the peripheral status of these Commonwealth Yiddish writers amplifies and complicates questions of visibility and belonging, particularly when considered alongside the variable pressures of assimilation and regional cultural dynamics. While the transnational nature of Yiddish literature generates multiple points of contact between these different Commonwealth communities, each is also influenced by localised and national attitudes towards Jewish collective identity.

Our roundtable will bring together new research into Yiddish literature from Australia, Canada, South Africa and the UK, looking at how these peripheral literary communities challenge or reinforce traditional definitions of Jewish identity in diaspora, particularly in relation to gender and race. Commonwealth Yiddish cultures not only have to navigate the familiar, gendered restrictions placed on both male and female writers, they are also influenced by specific regional and national perceptions of gender, race and belonging. This roundtable will offer the chance to explore the localised and transnational cultural networks established by Commonwealth Yiddish writers, as well as debating how these peripheral Yiddish communities expand or challenge traditional definitions of “Yiddishland”.

This roundtable will discuss such questions as:
1. How do Commonwealth Yiddish writers engage with questions of gender and/or race?
2. How do localised Yiddish literary and cultural networks challenge or support traditional perceptions of Jewish identity and belonging?
3. What are the relationships between these localised Commonwealth Yiddish literary communities and transnational Yiddish culture?
4. Are there localised restrictions on cultural production in these Commonwealth Yiddish communities?
5. What are the challenges and opportunities when working on lesser-known Yiddish sources?

Sub Unit

• Yiddish Studies

Moderator

• Shirli Gilbert, University College London

Discussants

• Daniel Baker

• Amanda Gordon

• Rebecca Margolis, ACJC - Monash University

• Roni Masel, University of California

• Rochelle Sibley, University of Warwick

Zoom Host

• Zoom Host 12