Comments on: Geeking Out with the Cambridge Companion http://jewschool.com/2010/05/02/22536/geeking-out-with-the-cambridge-companion/ Progressive Jews & Judaism Tue, 21 May 2013 18:38:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Chorus of Apes http://jewschool.com/2010/05/02/22536/geeking-out-with-the-cambridge-companion/comment-page-1/#comment-402479 Chorus of Apes Mon, 03 May 2010 01:32:44 +0000 http://jewschool.com/?p=22536#comment-402479 Yes! This article was a standout from an otherwise maddening class on Jewish identity I took at Brandeis. The whole sociological arm of the OJC really needs to brush up on contemporary theories of identity. The most annoying thing? The deep and unspoken assumption in these studies (yes, I'm looking at you Cohen Center) that Jewish identity is good, and that the ideal outcome would be for more people to have more of it. I don't think this assumption stands, and with it falls the entire project of counting Jews and measuring the impact of this or that program on their Jewish identity. Ok, I'll step down from this soapbox now. Yes! This article was a standout from an otherwise maddening class on Jewish identity I took at Brandeis. The whole sociological arm of the OJC really needs to brush up on contemporary theories of identity. The most annoying thing? The deep and unspoken assumption in these studies (yes, I’m looking at you Cohen Center) that Jewish identity is good, and that the ideal outcome would be for more people to have more of it. I don’t think this assumption stands, and with it falls the entire project of counting Jews and measuring the impact of this or that program on their Jewish identity.

Ok, I’ll step down from this soapbox now.

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