CALL FOR PAPERS: JEWISH CULTURAL STUDIES­PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Inaugural volume in book series on Jewish Cultural Studies, edited by Simon J. Bronner, Distinguished University Professor, The Pennsylvania State University, USA

Publisher: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, Oxford, UK

Format and Guidelines: 8,000-word essays in English, prepared electronically in Word, following Oxford Guide to Style (humanistic style with endnotes)
Deadline: May 1, 2006

Contact: Professor Simon J. Bronner, School of Humanities, The Pennsylvania State University, 777 West Harrisburg Pike, Middletown, PA 17057-4898, USA, sbronner@psu.edu

Papers are sought for an exciting new book series, JEWISH CULTURAL STUDIES, published by Littman Library of Jewish Civilization (see http://www.littman.co.uk). The inaugural volume will be on "Jewish Cultural Studies: Past, Present, and Future." The editorial board seeks contributions that explore Jewish culture as a subject of inquiry. Topics of interest for the volume include, but are not limited to, historiography of Jewish cultural studies with social psychological interpretations of figures and movements such as Yiddish nationalism, identity politics, and Jewish cultural revitalization; connections and breaks between cultural studies, religious studies, folklore and ethnology studies, and Jewish studies; uses of folklore and ethnology in the intellectual construction of Jewish culture in different countries and historic periods; models for interpreting emergent Jewish cultural movements in the twenty-first century; ideas of race, gender, and class in the perception and iconography of Jewish culture; relations between folk and popular culture, textual and visual culture, and domestic and public culture in conceptualization of Jewish culture.

The purpose of the series is to present thematic volumes interpreting Jewish cultures ethnographically and historically around the globe, and exploring the idea of Jewish culture as it has been constructed, symbolized, produced, communicated, and consumed in diverse contexts. Themes of volumes will be interdisciplinary, drawing particularly on research in folklore studies, anthropology, and cultural history and sociology. Future volumes being planned include themes of Jewish memorialization and museology, ritual and festival, consumerism and traditional culture, bodylore, and domestic Jewish life. The format of the volumes will be similar to the successful book series Polin, also published by Littman (see http://www.littman.co.uk/polin/). It typically contains 10 to 12 essays of 8000 words anchored by an introduction addressing the theme, and a section (usually 3 or 4 essays) called "New Views" of original research on Jewish studies not on the theme. Unlike many publications on Judaica studies, the Jewish cultural studies series will be exploring the secular as well as religious spheres, and the intersections of the two, with attention to the diversity of traditions and customs in the Jewish world—and particularly their significance and meaning. The publication is sponsored by the Jewish Folklore and Ethnology Section of the American Folklore Society in cooperation with the Council on the Anthropology of Jews and Judaism of the American Anthropological Association.

Essays will be peer-reviewed by an international editorial board, including:

Haya Bar-Itzhak, Haifa University, Israel
Dan Ben-Amos, University of Pennsylvania, USA
Matti Bunzl, University of Illinois, USA
Mikhail Chlenov, State Jewish Maimonides Academy, Russia
Sander Gilman, Emory University, USA
Harvey Goldberg, Hebrew University, Israel
Karl Grözinger, University of Potsdam, Germany
Ruth Ellen Gruber, Independent Scholar, Italy
Felicitas Heimann-Jellinek, Jewish Museum, Vienna, Austria
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, New York University, USA
Mikel Koven, University of Wales, UK
Suzanne D. Rutland, University of Sydney, Australia
Joachim Schlör, University of Potsdam, Germany
Laurence Sigal, Museum of Jewish Art and History, Paris, France
Steven Siporin, Utah State University, USA
Edward van Voolen, Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Jonathan Webber, University of Birmingham, UK
Jenna Weissman Joselit, Princeton University, USA

Littman Library of Jewish Civilization has been publishing books in Jewish studies since 1965 and has acquired a reputation as a leader in scholarly publishing in the field. Based in Oxford, England, Littman exhibits its publications in conferences all around the world and markets its books globally. Littman's books are published at a high standard of production, and prides itself on publishing works that are definitive and well written. Registered as a charitable foundation, profits from sales are reinvested into the production of new titles.

Members of the Jewish folklore and ethnology section of the American Folklore Society receive volumes as a benefit of membership. For more information, see http://www.afsnet.org/membership/membership.cfm

For more information, contact the editor Simon J. Bronner at sbronner@psu.edu.

Call for papers

The Eurovision Song Contest: Popular Music, Media, and Politics With the 50th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest approaching, we invite submissions for a collection of essays dealing with this popular culture phenomenon from a wide range of historical, sociological, and theoretical perspectives...

Founded in 1956 as an annual televised event unifying Europe through music, Eurovision is widely celebrated by its fans and just as widely disparaged by its critics. The event is replete with contradictions and border-crossings of all kinds. A French minister of culture called it "a monument to drivel," while one contestant later became the Norwegian minister of culture. Voting patterns reveal deep-seated alliances and animosities (Turkey often votes for Germany's song, but never for Greece), while recent wins by Estonia and Latvia demonstrate the arrival of "new Europe." In 1979, Eurovision was held for the first time outside of Europe, in Jerusalem; twenty years later an Israeli transsexual's victory crossed the borders of gender identity as well. Significantly perhaps, Eurovision is one of Europe's largest and longest-running media productions that has never been broadcast in the United States. Specific historical, sociological, and theoretical perspectives might address the following: - How are changing aspects of "Europe" reflected in the Eurovision Song Contest since its founding in the post-war decade, or since Europe's post-Wall expansion? - Case studies on participating countries, performers, songs, musical styles, language choice, cultural references, voting results, critical reception - The notion of border-crossing: political, musical, linguistic, aesthetic, or otherwise - Theoretical approaches to media spectacle, popular music, nationality, performativity - Technologies of fan culture: television broadcasting, telephone voting, record collecting, Internet websites - Europop aesthetics: kitsch or camp, humor and parody, tribute bands - Comparable institutions: The San Remo Song Festival (founded in 1951), Intervision (the former East Bloc answer to Eurovision), World Pop Idol, etc. Please reply to both Ivan Raykoff (raykoffi@newschool.edu) and Robert Tobin (tobin@whitman.edu). Ivan Raykoff Prof. of Arts in Context (Music) Eugene Lang College/New School University 65 West 11th St. New York, NY 10011 Robert Tobin Prof. of Foreign Languages and Literature (German) Whitman College Walla Walla, WA 99362