 |
 |
Perhaps of interest for some of you. Best, Roberto *** From: Cathy Gelbin ************************* Sent: Thu 1/13/2011 6:00 AM Subject: New book announcement: The Golem Returns: From German Romantic = Literature to Global Jewish Culture =20 Cathy S. Gelbin The Golem Returns. From German Romantic Literature to Global Jewish = Culture, 1808-2008. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2011 The Hulk, Superman, the Terminator; they are all modern popular culture = echoes of the golem, that mystical, artificial man of legend, a sort of = friendly Jewish version of Frankenstein's monster. By focusing on the = golem in key literary texts and films, The Golem Returns explores the = role that popular culture has played in the formation of modern Jewish = culture. Widely seen as an icon of authentically Jewish lore, the golem = has inspired a broad range of writers across ethnic, cultural, and = national affiliations in Europe, the United States, and Israel. Previous = scholarly accounts of the golem have sought to distinguish between a = supposedly authentic Jewish folktale tradition on the golem and its = modern literary rewriting. In contrast, The Golem Returns contends that = the popular culture theme of the golem as it is known today is the = product of the complex cultural interaction between Jews and non-Jews = since the early modern period, a process subverting stable and = ethnically fixed notions of Jewish culture. Tracing the popular culture = constructions of the golem by non-Jewish and Jewish writers since the = early 1800s, this book argues that golem representations have come full = circle and that popular culture, despite its subversion of clearly = demarcated ethnic origins, has played an important role in the = construction of modern Jewish culture. The Golem Returns will be of = interest to scholars of German and Jewish Studies, as well as readers = examining popular culture, film, and the illustrated novel. For more = details, go to = http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=3D1734730