Description
Book SynopsisIn A Traveling Homeland, Daniel Boyarin makes the case that the Babylonian Talmud is a diasporist manifesto producing and defining the practices that constitute Jewish diasporic identity in the form of textual, interpretive communities built around talmudic study.
Trade Review"Boyarin's book can be seen as a diasporic creation itself in terms of its embeddedness both in the details of the Talmudic discourse and in sociological theories outside of Jewish studies. Boyarin is engaged in a dialogue with scholars outside of Jewish studies and convincingly shows how Jewish studies can influence and be influenced by these 'foreign' fields. His scholarship is exemplary in showing how mutually fruitful and important those discussions can be.
A Traveling Homeland is very well written and a most worthwhile read for anyone who wants to get a fresh look at the phenomena of diaspora, the Talmud, and the nature of Jewishness itself as a diaspora. It opens up needed debates on these issues as it challenges commonly held views." *
Reading Religion *
"After two decades of exciting debate, the theory of diaspora studies is now in gridlock and in need of new interventions. This is such an intervention-a strong and exhilarating book." * Khachig Tölölyan, Wesleyan University *
"Daniel Boyarin demolishes the long-standing notion that diaspora was born out of despair and sorrow.
A Traveling Homeland is a highly erudite, suggestive, and provocative study on the concept of diaspora, and the Jewish diaspora in particular." * Oded Irshai, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem *
Table of ContentsPrelude. A Different Diaspora
Chapter 1. Diaspora and the Jewish Diasporas
Chapter 2. At Home in Babylonia: The Talmud as Diasporist Manifesto
Chapter 3. In the Land of Talmud: The Textual Making of a Diasporic Folk
Chapter 4. Looking for Our Routes; or, the Talmud and the Making of Diasporas: Sefarad and Ashkenaz
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
