Description
Book Synopsis* This book weaves together an original argument about cosmopolitanism, and a plea for what the author calls 'rooted cosmopolitanism', with an historical argument about Jewish memory in relation to the Holocaust.
Trade Review"Jewish Memory enriches its interpretation with the analysis of significant political events and actions."
—Political Studies Review
"In this fine piece of writing, Sznaider confronts us directly with a paradox of current imaginations of new cosmopolitanism in Europe."
—Sociological Review
"What is Europe? Not a state, not a territory, argues Natan Sznaider, but a process of shifting borders, and a cosmopolitan memory and vision lived by a multi-lingual Jewish culture. This book exemplifies the richness of cosmopolitan theory and research in the humanities."
—Ulrich Beck, University of Munich
"Natan Sznaider brilliantly demonstrates that 'the Jew' has become preeminently the symbol and the vehicle for cosmopolitanism. Jewish universalism and tribalism appear to epitomize the dilemmas and contradictions of the modern cosmopolitan imagination. Through the lens of Hannah Arendt's philosophy and the traumatic history of European Jews, the author explores the contemporary debate about universal ethics. The result is a tour de force in history, sociology and political theory."
—Bryan S. Turner, City University of New York
"This book is a must-read for anyone interested in Jewish or any other politics. Sznaider's main thesis is that the particularity of memories and experiences is not subordinate to the universality of an idea such as cosmopolitanism - that the latter is void of worldly and even human relevance without the former. He makes his case through a close examination of modern Jewish thought, with specific and illuminating emphasis on Hannah Arendt. This is a work of inspired scholarship."
—Jerome Kohn, New School University
"Sznaider's book is a welcome addition to the growing list of scholars who understand 'Jewish politics', outside of Israel, as a transnational enterprise of activists, intellectuals, and NGOs." (Human Rights Review 2015)
Table of ContentsChapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Paris, Geneva, and Port Bou: The Last Europeans
Chapter 3: Frankfurt, Jerusalem, Offenbach, and New York: Jews and Europe
Chapter 4: The View from Eastern Europe: From Warsaw to New York
Chapter 5: Zurich, Vilna, and Nuremberg: Generalized Guilt
Chapter 6: From Nuremberg to New York via Jerusalem
Chapter 7: Between Drohobych and New York: An End and a New Beginning
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