In Antisemitism and the White Supremacist Imaginary: Conflations and
Contradictions in Composition and Rhetoric, Mara Lee Grayson calls
attention to the complicity of academic institutions and the
discipline(s) of rhetoric, composition, and writing studies in the
simultaneous perpetuation and denial of anti-Jewish racism. Despite
the persistence of antisemitism and Christian hegemony in the United
States and its academic institutions, and despite a growing body of
antiracist and anti-oppressive scholarship, antisemitism remains
largely unaddressed in disciplinary scholarship, curricula, and
pedagogy. This book begins to fill that gap by exploring how the
rhetoric through which Jewish identity is conceptualized and
weaponized by the white supremacist imaginary essentializes Jewish
identities and obscures the racist aims and character of antisemitism.
Drawing upon rhetorical analysis, personal narrative, and original
phenomenological research, Grayson highlights how deeply embedded
antisemitic ideologies impact the lived experiences of Jewish
teachers, students, and scholars, and perpetuate white supremacy. This
book illuminates the experiential, rhetorical, historical, political,
and racial dynamics of antisemitism, exposes the limitations of
existing discourses of whiteness and (anti)racism, and gestures toward
a future in which, through more nuanced and productive discourse, we
can better support Jewish educators and students and better engage
Jewish members of the discipline as accomplices in antiracism. "I take
this book personally. Grayson’s theoretical framework, historical
overview, personal anecdotes, and phenomenological research locate
antisemitism nestled in the heart of the white supremacist imaginary.
I felt such sadness, anger, and pain reading this book—recognizing
myself as a Jew in its stark reflection—and yet her words also
charge me, explicitly in my Jewishness, with the urgent need to join
others in imagining a more just world through cooperative action and
frank dialogue. It’s a powerful and vibrant contribution to our
field." —Eli Goldblatt, Co-Author, with David Jolliffe, of Literacy
as Conversation: Learning Networks in Urban and Rural Communities "In
this timely and important monograph, Dr. Grayson adroitly explains the
impact of antisemitism not only for rhetoric, composition, and writing
scholars and students but also our contemporary moment. In lucid and
engaging prose, she unpacks thousands of years of history and tropes,
making this book a must-read for anyone engaged in antiracist work."
—Janice W. Fernheimer, Zantker Professor of Jewish Studies,
Professor of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies, University of
Kentucky
Les mer
Conflations and Contradictions in Composition and Rhetoric
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781433192999
Publisert
2023
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter