People As Subject, People As Object: Selfhood and Peoplehood in Contemporary Israel (New Directions in Anthropological Writing)

Politics & Social Sciences

Dominguez, Virginia R.

Social Sciences

Univ of Wisconsin Pr

Review\n“This book is fascinating, enlightening, maddening, and disturbing [but] by the end one feels that Domínguez has, in fact, gotten to the bottom of what she convincingly argues is a condition for the very possibility of Israeli society—namely, the definition of peoplehood. . . . The two key concepts with which she deals throughout are ‘culture’ and ‘ethnicity.’ She analyzes newspaper accounts for both content and rhetoric or discourse on these subjects, and in addition, examines ‘story-telling events’ dealing with the lifestyles and situations of various Jewish minority groups—especially the Orientals or Sephardim—who have been only uneasily accommodated in Israeli society in recent years. ‘Nationality’ is distinguished both from ‘religion’ and from ‘citizenship’ in official Israeli usage, and Domínguez tries to analyze what this means for Israel as a polity, and as a community of persons who, in a cultural sense, have very little in common.”—Nancie L. Gonzalez, American Anthropologist\n“Domínguez conveys much insight into the perception, attitudes, and contradictions of Israeli society. She effectively explains the internal and external boundaries of Israeli peoplehood and does surprisingly well with enormously confusing issues, such as ‘who is a Jew?’ The discussion of Israeli Independence Day, Sephardic/Ashkenazic ethnicity, and vignettes of theater and storytelling are especially worthy of mention. Her evaluation of the ongoing process of creating an Israeli national identity is outstanding.” 
—Choice\n“The best ethnography of Israeli Jews, collapsing the boundaries between tradition, culture, and nation. . . . Domínguez ambitiously focuses her fieldwork on processes that form the public discourses of national culture and that objectify and police individual and ethnic experiences through the national collectivity.”—Smadar Lavie, Middle East Journal

People As Subject, Object (New Directions in Anthropological Writing)

History

World

University of Wisconsin Press

White By Definition: Social Classification in Creole Louisiana

"A profound study of the nebulous Creoles. . . . Domínguez's use of original sources . . . is scholarship at its best. . . . Her study is fascinating, thought-provoking, controversial, and without a doubt, one of the most objective analyses of Creole Louisiana. Her emphasis on social stratification and her excellent integration of ethnic and racial classification of Creoles with legal and social dynamics and individual choice of ethnic identity elucidates strikingly the continuing controversy of who and what is a Louisiana Creole."--Journal of American Ethnic History 
"Domínguez's most important contribution lies in her conceptualization of the problem of identity. She treats ethnic identity as something that can change over time, warning us against imposing current meanings on the past and requiring us to consider evidence of how terms were actually used in the past. . . . It is hard to imagine a frame of reference more ideally suited to historical analysis."--Louisiana History 
"A valuable interdisciplinary examination of the processes of racial definition in Louisiana's history. Her study combines the anthropologist's sensitivity to language and self definition within a community with a skillful exploitation of historical sources."--Law and Society 
"I highly recommend this book to all persons interested in social stratification."--Alvin L. Bertrand, Contemporary Sociology 
"A vivid and insightful reading of the historical circumstances that have shaped definitions of Creoles within Louisiana law and society."--Journal of Southern History 
"A profound study of the nebulous Creoles. . . . Domínguez's use of original sources . . . is scholarship at its best. . . . Her study is fascinating, thought-provoking, controversial, and without a doubt, one of the most objective analyses of Creole Louisiana. Her emphasis on social stratification and her excellent integration of ethnic and racial classification of Creoles with legal and social dynamics and individual choice of ethnic identity elucidates strikingly the continuing controversy of who and what is a Louisiana Creole."--Journal of American Ethnic History 
"Domínguez's most important contribution lies in her conceptualization of the problem of identity. She treats ethnic identity as something that can change over time, warning us against imposing current meanings on the past and requiring us to consider evidence of how terms were actually used in the past. . . . It is hard to imagine a frame of reference more ideally suited to historical analysis."--Louisiana History 
"A valuable interdisciplinary examination of the processes of racial definition in Louisiana's history. Her study combines the anthropologist's sensitivity to language and self definition within a community with a skillful exploitation of historical sources."--Law and Society 
"I highly recommend this book to all persons interested in social stratification."--Alvin L. Bertrand, Contemporary Sociology 
"A vivid and insightful reading of the historical circumstances that have shaped definitions of Creoles within Louisiana law and society."--Journal of Southern History

Americas

Rutgers University Press

Anthropological Lives: An Introduction to the Profession of Anthropology

Anthropological Lives introduces readers to what it is like to be a professional anthropologist.&nbsp; It focuses on the work anthropologists do, the passions they have, the way that being an anthropologist affects the kind of life they lead. The book draws heavily on the experiences of twenty anthropologists interviewed by Virginia R. Dominguez and Brigittine M. French, as well as on the experiences of the two coauthors. Many different kinds of anthropologists are represented, and the book makes a point of discussing their commonalities as well as their differences. Some of the anthropologists included work in the academy, some work outside the academy, and some work in institutions like museums. Included are cultural anthropologists, linguistic anthropologists, medical anthropologists, biological anthropologists, practicing anthropologists, and anthropological archaeologists. A fascinating look behind the curtain, the stories in Anthropological Lives will inform anyone who has ever wondered what you do with a degree in anthropology. Anthropologists profiled: Leslie Aiello, Lee Baker, João Biehl, Tom Boellstorff, Jacqueline Comito, Shannon Dawdy, Virginia R. Dominguez, T.J. Ferguson, Brigittine French, Agustín Fuentes, Amy Goldenberg, Mary Gray, Sarah Green, Monica Heller, Douglas Hertzler, Ed Liebow, Mariano Perelman, Jeremy Sabloff, Carolyn Sargent, Marilyn Strathern, Nandini Sundar, Alaka Wali. &nbsp;

Biographies & Memoirs

French, Brigittine M.

Professionals & Academics

Caribbean: Its Implications for the United States (Headline Series, 253)

Domínguez, Jorge I.

Foreign Policy Assn

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