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Jews, Sports, and the Rites of Citizenship

Jack Kugelmass editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:University of Illinois Press

Published:2nd Jan '07

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Jews, Sports, and the Rites of Citizenship cover

How sports act as a path toward citizenship for minority populations

How sports can provide a path toward citizenship for minority populationsTo many, an association between Jews and sports seems almost oxymoronic--yet Jews have been prominent in boxing, basketball, and fencing, and some would argue that hurler Sandy Koufax is America's greatest athlete ever. In Jews, Sports, and the Rites of Citizenship, Jack Kugelmass shows that sports--significant in constructing nations and in determining their degree of exclusivity--also figures prominently in the Jewish imaginary. This interdisciplinary collection brings together the perspectives of anthropologists and historians to provide both methodological and regional comparative frameworks for exploring the meaning of sports for a minority population.

"These essays are based on history and anthropology but they also offer a compelling analysis of modernity. . . . Citizenship and nationhood cannot be divorced from both the physical and the intellectual attributes of a group, which these authors clearly convey."--Contemporary Jewish Life
"The eleven essays present some interesting topics and research."--Choice
"What makes this collection significant is that it resists simply crowing about Jewish athletes . . . rather this collection brings together not sportswriters but rather historians, anthropologists, sociologists, and cultural theoreticians to give athletics a gravitas it seldom obtains. . . . The writing is at turns vivid, provocative, persuasive, speculative - never dry, never dull. Its essential theory - how athletics shapes cultural identity - is a rewarding and important premise for serious students of contemporary athletics."--Aethlon
"This book provides scholars with a good introduction to an important topic."--American Jewish History
"This stimulating collection of essays--covering the United States, Europe, and the Middle East--provides an unfailingly informative and engaging perspective on Jewish involvement in sports. . . . For students of ethnic studies and Jewish studies, and for general readers interested in sports or Judaism, the book is a must."--Stanley Brandes, professor of anthropology, University of California, Berkeley

ISBN: 9780252073243

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 25mm

Weight: 399g

248 pages