DOCSLIB.ORG

Bar-Ilan University

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University The Value of Menstruation: Positive Meanings of the Female Lived-Body Experience Sarit Gayle Moas Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the M a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e from the Program for Higher Degrees in Gender Studies of the Interdisciplinary Unit, Bar-Ilan University *This work is protected by copyright law. Copyright © Sarit Gayle Moas 2010. All Rights Reserved. Ramat-Gan, Israel 2010 This thesis was written under the supervision of Prof. Larissa Remennick of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Dr. Hila Ha’elyon of the Program for Higher Degrees in Gender Studies of the Interdisciplinary Unit, Bar-Ilan University. Acknowledgements My thanks to the Creator and as the proposal was approved on my birthday, Alef Sivan, prior to Erev Shavuot, and as this thesis was accepted exactly one year later, may this first academic fruit be my offering to the Divine. To all my teachers & parents in this world and beyond who have assisted me in remembering and becoming who I am. To the social networks, spiritual communities and sisterhoods that continue to sustain and inspire me. To my supervisors, Professor Larissa Remennick for your flexibility, integrity and openness and to Dr. Hila Ha’elyon for your brilliant clairvoyance, enthusiasm and knowing how to empower me to work independently. To Professor Tova Cohen & Rachel Hillel from the Gender Studies Program, for your assurance, focus and cheerful encouragement. To Professor Jenny Kein for your reading and judgment which provided useful input. Further appreciation goes out to Dr. Rivka Tuval-Mashiach, Dr. Hila Ha’elyon, Professor Larissa Remennick, Dr. Tova Hartman and Dr. Ronit Ir-Shay –your classes academically strengthened and personally intrigued me to the extent of stimulating my research. To Dr. Tami Razi and Dr. Michal Rom for your patience in creatively brainstorming with me at the protracted outset of this project. To Dr. Orna Sasson-Levy, Dr. Lyat Friedman and Dr. Elisheva Baumgarten for challenging me to the extent of improving my academic style. To Meir Roth and Dr. Shlomo Sela of the computer department, for improving the thesis format through useful help and computer training. To Linda Joyce Moas; Ahuva Rosenblatt, Dr. Avraham Moskowitz, Dr. Michelle Garland, Amanda Wright and Dr. Orna-Rachel Weiner for your advice, proofreading and support. To my editor-in-chief, Reuven Goldfarb, for your professionalism, skills, patience, charm and our synchronized wavelength. To my dear friend, Rachel Bushary, for your continuous guidance and strong embrace. And a most special thanks I extend to Henit Azuz-Farchan, my confidante, colleague & coach as well as to Shelly, Nili and Ofra on the school front. I thank Ran Smilovitch and Ronain Moas for believing in this project on the home front. Although this project reflects an alternative view, I am grateful towards Rebbetzin Emuna Witt, HaMorah Leah Golomb, Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, Rabbi Haviva Ner-David, Rav Eran Bénisty & HaRav Israël Yitzhak Besançon, for your teachings, sharing & blessings. To my academic mentor –Dr. Avi Elqayam and to Dr. Dalila Amir, Dr. Marianna Ruah- Midbar and Dr. Rivka Raviv, I thank you respectively, for a partnership in a committed quest of giving over the experience of truth, bringing the body back into the discourse, academizing spirituality and exploring niddah openly. I extend my deepest gratitude by dedicating this work to all the amazing and authentic women who honor this lived-thesis endeavor by contributing to menstrual research, talking their walk as well as walking their talk through living out unique female wisdom. Sarit Gayle Moas (Sarita): [email protected]; [email protected] 972-54-4899458; 972-3-5225138. Table of Contents Abstract. 1. Introduction................................................................................................................. 1 2. Literature Review ....................................................................................................... 5 A: Menstruation in the Jewish Context .................................................................... 5 B: Menstruation in the Israeli Context ................................................................... 12 C: Feminist Reinterpretations of ‘Menstrual Purity’ ............................................ 12 D: Menstruation Models........................................................................................... 17 3. Research Design and Methodology ......................................................................... 20 Research Paradigm...................................................................................................... 20 Research Objective ..................................................................................................... 20 Research Questions..................................................................................................... 21 Research Tools............................................................................................................ 21 Study Population......................................................................................................... 22 Research Procedure..................................................................................................... 23 Interview Structure and Analysis................................................................................ 24 Ethics........................................................................................................................... 25 4. Research Findings..................................................................................................... 26 A: Table of Interviewees’ Characteristics............................................................... 26 B: Body Awareness and Acceptance ....................................................................... 31 Achieving Body Awareness.................................................................................... 33 The Approach of ‘Naturality’ ................................................................................. 36 C: Non-limiting Body Practices and Attitudes ....................................................... 38 Menstrual Experiences and Practices...................................................................... 41 Pre-menstrual Practices........................................................................................... 47 Reappropriating Body Practices ............................................................................. 48 Other Body-Related Behaviors............................................................................... 50 Implications of ‘Naturality’ on Fertility and Society.............................................. 56 D: Widening Space to Accommodate Changing Boundaries................................ 59 Implications of Institutionalizing Space ................................................................. 63 E: Redefining Menstruation and Reality ................................................................ 66 Women’s Authenticity Revealed through Menstruation ........................................ 70 Holistic Parallelism of Spiritual Embodiment ........................................................ 71 Towards Solving the Conflict of Niddah................................................................ 73 F: Personal Reflections ............................................................................................. 79 5. Discussion and Conclusions ..................................................................................... 82 6. Summary and Future Research............................................................................... 88 7. Appendixes................................................................................................................. 91 Appendix A: Candidate Screening Guide................................................................... 91 Appendix B: Semi-Structured Interview Schedule..................................................... 92 8. Bibliography.. ........................................................................................................ …93 Hebrew Absract. Abstract This qualitative feminist study deals with experiences of a group of ‘menstrually aware’ women in Israel, who describe their attitudes and practices concerning their bodies, menstruation and conceptualization of niddah. This thesis is based on in-depth interviews conducted with 19 fertile Jewish-Israeli women who are ‘involved with their menstrual cycle’ and contributes to opening up the public discussion of menstruation in Israel. This phenomenological research investigates their perceptions of the natural cycle through a thematic analysis in light of menstrual models and their philosophical, sociological and theological sources. Theoretical aspects of existentialism, ‘lived- body’ and ‘embodiment’ theories, along with Biblical sources, were examined within a critical feminist framework. The hypothesis of this research is the existence of positive menstrual meanings and this thesis sets out to describe and characterize the menstrual phenomenon as a valuable event. This research population is characterized by a body narrative of naturalness and body consciousness. The possibility of linking ‘positive force’ to the woman during her menstruation derives from self-acceptance of the body in all of its conditions. Such an experience is more accessible by adopting a body orientation that is related to spiritual, ecological
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Reactionary Postmodernism? Neoliberalism, Multiculturalism, the Internet, and the Ideology of the New Far Right in Germany
    University of Vermont ScholarWorks @ UVM UVM Honors College Senior Theses Undergraduate Theses 2018 Reactionary Postmodernism? Neoliberalism, Multiculturalism, the Internet, and the Ideology of the New Far Right in Germany William Peter Fitz University of Vermont Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/hcoltheses Recommended Citation Fitz, William Peter, "Reactionary Postmodernism? Neoliberalism, Multiculturalism, the Internet, and the Ideology of the New Far Right in Germany" (2018). UVM Honors College Senior Theses. 275. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/hcoltheses/275 This Honors College Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate Theses at ScholarWorks @ UVM. It has been accepted for inclusion in UVM Honors College Senior Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ UVM. For more information, please contact [email protected]. REACTIONARY POSTMODERNISM? NEOLIBERALISM, MULTICULTURALISM, THE INTERNET, AND THE IDEOLOGY OF THE NEW FAR RIGHT IN GERMANY A Thesis Presented by William Peter Fitz to The Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of The University of Vermont In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements For the Degree of Bachelor of Arts In European Studies with Honors December 2018 Defense Date: December 4th, 2018 Thesis Committee: Alan E. Steinweis, Ph.D., Advisor Susanna Schrafstetter, Ph.D., Chairperson Adriana Borra, M.A. Table of Contents Introduction 1 Chapter One: Neoliberalism and Xenophobia 17 Chapter Two: Multiculturalism and Cultural Identity 52 Chapter Three: The Philosophy of the New Right 84 Chapter Four: The Internet and Meme Warfare 116 Conclusion 149 Bibliography 166 1 “Perhaps one will view the rise of the Alternative for Germany in the foreseeable future as inevitable, as a portent for major changes, one that is as necessary as it was predictable.
    [Show full text]
  • Alternative Media As Activist Media
    Stream: Culture/Politics/Technology, 7(1), 23-33 http://journals.sfu.ca/stream Rising Above: Alternative Media as Activist Media Benjamin Anderson School of Communication Simon Fraser University Abstract This paper asserts that truly activist media must be dually committed to critical education and to political action. Whereas my previous work has focused on the need for activist media to challenge media power from within, it is my goal here to build a model of activist media characterized by di- rect action through engagement in critical education and activism in both content and production. Such a model will provide insight both into the limitations of previous research on the oppositional potential of alternative media and into the challenge facing alternative media scholars and practi- tioners alike – that of rising above the noise of the dominant media of the cultural industry in order to communicate for radical social change. Keywords Alternative media, activist media, critical theory Introduction “[God] could alter even the past, unmake what had really happened, and make real what had never happened. As we can see, in the case of enlightened newspaper edi- tors, God is not needed for this task; a bureaucrat is all that is reQuired.” -Walter Benjamin, Journalism Today's culture industry both shapes and reinforces the social totality. In contemporary media we see the limits of accepted reason, wherein the status Quo imposes itself as the one and only reality, the limits of human action and the culmination of a unified, linear history of human progress (Horkheimer & Adorno 2002). Just as the capitalist order enjoys the uncanny ability to co-opt dissi- dence and resistance, so too does the culture industry reappropriate creative resistance – in the commercialization of radical resources, the mass mediated smearing of radical voices, and the ab- sorption (or dissolution) of alternative media channels through economic strangulation.
    [Show full text]
  • Potential Risk and Protective Factors for Eating Disorders in Haredi (Ultra‑Orthodox) Jewish Women
    Journal of Religion and Health (2019) 58:2161–2174 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00854-2 PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLORATION Potential Risk and Protective Factors for Eating Disorders in Haredi (ultra‑Orthodox) Jewish Women Rachel Bachner‑Melman1,2 · Ada H. Zohar1 Published online: 7 June 2019 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract Little is known scientifcally about eating disorders (EDs) in the Haredi (Jewish ultra-Orthodox) community. This paper aims to describe Haredi culture, review available peer-reviewed research on EDs in the Haredi community and discuss pos- sible risk and protective factors for these disorders in a culturally informed way. A literature search for 2009–2019 yielded 180 references of which only nine were stud- ies on ED in the Haredi community. We describe these and use them as a basis for discussion of possible risk and protective factors for ED in Haredi women. Risk fac- tors may include the centrality of food, poverty, rigid dress codes, the importance of thinness for dating and marriage, high demands from women, selfessness and early marriage and high expectations from women. Protective factors may include faith, Jewish laws governing eating and food that encourage gratitude and mindful eat- ing, and body covering as part of modesty laws that discourage objectifcation. Ways of overcoming the current barriers to research in the Haredi community should be sought to advance ED prevention and treatment in this population. Keywords Eating disorders · ultra-Orthodox · Haredi · Risk and protective factors · Body image Introduction Eating disorders (EDs) are characterized by a persistent disturbance of eating-related behavior that leads to altered consumption of food and the impairment of physical health or psychosocial functioning (APA 2013).
    [Show full text]
  • Critical Literacy Seems Really Interesting, but Why Talk About Menstruation?
    “Critical literacy seems really interesting, but why talk about menstruation?” A critical literacy approach to teaching and learning about menstruation Shire Agnew A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy at the University of Otago College of Education, Dunedin, New Zealand June 2017 Abstract For the majority of young people, puberty and sexuality education is an important source of information about menstruation. Menstruation is part of the Positive Puberty unit, Year Six to Eight in the New Zealand Health and Physical Education curriculum. The Positive Puberty unit states that students develop a positive attitude towards the changes occurring at puberty. However, dominant discourse of shame and secrecy still construct menstruation as a worrisome event that must remain hidden from awareness. I argue that a different approach to the teaching of menstruation is necessary if we are to achieve outcomes that construct puberty, particularly menstruation, in a positive way. This research uses a critical literacy where teachers and students mutually investigate a variety of possible multiple readings (re)created in the texts of print advertising produced by menstrual companies. Teachers and students from Year Seven and Eight (ages 11-12) made up the participants of this study. The teachers attended two workshops to explore menstruation and critical literacy, and mutually construct lesson plans for an observed classroom lesson with each participating teacher. From each classroom a mixed-gendered group of six students took part in pre and post-lesson interviews, and the teachers all participated in exit interviews. All workshops and interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed, and the transcriptions along with my field notes of the lesson and their activity sheets made up the data of this research.
    [Show full text]
  • The Creative Economy and the English Speaking Communities in Quebec
    The Creative Economy and the English Speaking Communities in Quebec REPORT SUBMITTED TO INDUSTRY CANADA BY TRACY ZHANG, PH.D.(SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR INSTITUTE, CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY), WITH AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY PREPARED BY AURELIA ROMAN, M.A. ON BEHALF OF THE QUEBEC ENGLISH - SPEAKING COMMUNITIES RESEARCH NETWORK (QUESCREN) QUESCREN is a joint initiative of the Canadian Institute for Research on Linguistic Minorities and Concordia University's School of Extended Learning MONTREAL, 2012-03-31 The Creative Economy and English-speaking Communities in Quebec EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Creative Economy and English-Speaking Communities in Quebec presents preliminary research results based on a focus group, private key informant interviews, and bibliographical research. It demonstrates that the concepts of the creative economy are useful in charting cultural and economic development for the English-speaking communities in Quebec (ESCQ). The English-speaking population in Quebec forms the largest provincial Official Language Minority Community in Canada. In recent decades, the composition of this population has become increasingly complex and multicultural. Parallel to this demographic shift, the influence of English-language Quebec culture has also evolved. English-speakers are said to have a high participation rate in the arts, culture and heritage sectors. In this context, organizations from these sectors are increasingly involved in supporting the socioeconomic development of the ESCQ. This report reflects growing concerns on the part of representatives of some of these organizations who participated in the study over how to apply the creative economy theory to generate effective models of cultural-economic development for the ESCQ. Due to the preliminary nature of the research involved in this study, coupled with the range of understandings about the creative economy reflected in the participants' comments and our annotated bibliography, the report does not recommend a single definition of "creative economy".
    [Show full text]
  • Is Multiculturalism Really Dead?
    Grand Valley State University ScholarWorks@GVSU Honors Projects Undergraduate Research and Creative Practice 5-3-2011 Is Multiculturalism Really Dead?: A Closer Look at the Multiculturalism Debate within the Context of Berlin’s District of Kreuzberg Molly Wolf Grand Valley State University Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/honorsprojects Recommended Citation Wolf, Molly, "Is Multiculturalism Really Dead?: A Closer Look at the Multiculturalism Debate within the Context of Berlin’s District of Kreuzberg" (2011). Honors Projects. 67. http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/honorsprojects/67 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate Research and Creative Practice at ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Projects by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Is Multiculturalism Really Is MulticulturalismDead?: Really A Dead?: closer A Closer Look at the Multiculturalism Debate within the Context of Berlin’s District of Kreuzberg MollySculpture Elizabeth of Kreuzberg Wolf punks on an hourglass on the corner of Admiralstraße and Kohlfurter Straße HNR 499: Senior Project Frederik Meijer Honors College Grand Valley State University Professor Donovan Anderson May 3, 2011 2 At a conference in October of 2010, German Prime Minister, Angela Merkel, made the statement that German multiculturalism is dead. I wonder if Merkel has ever stepped foot into the city district of Kreuzberg, or even left her office in Berlin at all. Berlin is a city in which it is quite easy for one, in certain parts, to sometimes forget in which country one actually is.
    [Show full text]
  • Mixed Multitudes: Nobody's Free 'Til Everybody's Free
    Mixed Multitudes: Nobody’s Free ‘til Everybody’s Free A Racial Justice Haggadah for Pesach Raul Ayala 1 This haggadah is an open-source resource, available for download at jfrej.org. Please download, share, and use 2 the haggadah widely and freely, but please cite if you are excerpting for your own use. Sarah Quinter Introduction by 2016 Racial Justice Seder Planning Committee: Graie Barasch-Hagans, Robin Blanc, Ruben Brosbe, Megan Madison, and Mackenzie Reynolds Chayav adam lirot et atzmo k’ilu hu yatza mimitzrayim. Each person must see themselves as though they came out of Mitzrayim Tonight we come together, as Jewish communities have for countless generations, to retell an ancient story. But while the story is old, we come together with a new purpose, to tell the story firmly planted in and committed to the reality that we are the mixed multitude. We tell this story today together as part of our collective fight for racial and economic justice, for collective liberation, and for the expanse of freedom. Tonight we celebrate the freedom of the Israelite slaves. And we imagine for ourselves today: What would the world look like if everyone was free? In the narrative of the haggadah, we wonder: what is the moment of freedom? Is freedom achieved? Are liberation and freedom the same? And: at whose expense does Israelite freedom come? Is the exodus of the mixed multitude from Mitzrayim a moment of collective liberation, involving Egyptians and other non-Israelites suffering under Pharaoh’s rule? Or does collective liberation also demand the liberation of Pharaoh from his hardened heart and the fortress of power around him? Our tradition tells us: “B’chol dor vador chayav adam lirot et atzmo k’ilu hu yatza mimitzrayim.
    [Show full text]
  • Guarding the Brit and Guarding the Eyes
    WITH THE HELP OF THE HOLY ONE BLESSED BE HE THE GUARDING OF THE BRIT AND THE GUARDING OF THE EYES TORAH = 611 = BRIT = 612 EYF[=611=[JYB=612 THE ONE WHO GUARDS THE COVENANT IS CONSIDERED AS IF HE HAD OBSERVED ALL THE TORAH (ZOHAR HA KADOSH I, 197a) THIS BOOK IS DISTRIBUTED FREE OF CHARGE ALL THE TORAH THAT IS BROUGHT IN THIS BOOK IS QUOTED FROM TANACH, TALMUD, ZOHAR, MIDRASH, RISHONIM, ACHARONIM, SHULCHAN ARUCH, STUDENTS OF THE ARI HA KADOSH, STUDENTS OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV, THE CHAFETZ CHAIM, ETC. IT IS A MITZVAH TO COPY THIS BOOK OR PARTS OF IT IN ORDER TO GIVE IT TO OTHER JEWS, THEREBY INCREASING TORAH STUDY AND THE OBSERVANCE OF MITZVOT. AND THE ONE WHO BRINGS MERIT TO OTHER JEWS HAS EVIL DECREES AGAINST HIM ANNULLED AND THERE IS NO LIMIT FOR HIS REWARD AND MERITS TO HAVE SONS THAT WILL BE TZADDIKIM AND NO SIN COMES THROUGH HIM 2 THE GUARDING OF THE BRIT AND THE GUARDING OF THE EYES It is forbidden to masturbate, and this sin is more serious than any other in the Torah (Tur, Shulchan Aruch, Even Ha-ezer 23:1) The true strength of a person's piety is demonstrated under the following circumstances: a devout person does not cast off his piety even when people ridicule him; whatever he does is for the sake of heaven; he does not look at women. His piety is put to the test especially when he is in the company of other men in a situation where women are usually around-for example, in a wedding hall where women are dressed in elegant gowns, and all are gazing at the women, and he does not stare.
    [Show full text]
  • The Myth of Cultural Deprivation, Or a Case for Cultural Pluralism
    University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1973 The ym th of cultural deprivation, or a case for cultural pluralism. Barbara Lazarus Wilson University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Wilson, Barbara Lazarus, "The ym th of cultural deprivation, or a case for cultural pluralism." (1973). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 2751. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/2751 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE MYTH OP CULTURAL DEPRIVATION OR, A CASE FOR CULTURAL PLURALISM A Dissertation Presented By BARBARA LAZARUS WILSON Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OP EDUCATION Major Subject Education (c) Barbara Lazarus Wilson 1973 All Rights Reserved THE MYTH OF CULTURAL DEPRIVATION, OR, A CASE FOR CULTURAL PLURALISM A Dissertation By BARBARA LAZARUS WILSON Approved as to style and content by: Dr, Emma CappellUzzo^ Chairman of Committee C/V . , / ft- Dr. Glenn Hawke s. Member / f /) ' ( t -• iU. iX / May, 1973 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS With the hope that an "acknowledgement” is foremost an expression of gratitude, I would like to acknowledge in chronological order those people who have helped me with the ideas expressed here, and have given me the insight and confidence to write my dissertation: Thomas Wilson, J.
    [Show full text]
  • This Thesis Has Been Approved by the Honors Tutorial College and the Department of Art History
    This thesis has been approved by The Honors Tutorial College and the Department of Art History __________________________ Dr. Jennie Klein, Art History Thesis Adviser ___________________________ Dr. Jennie Klein, Director of Studies, Art History ___________________________ Dr. Donal Skinner Dean, Honors Tutorial College SHE INKED! WOMEN IN AMERICAN TATTOO CULTURE ____________________________________ A Thesis Presented to The Honors Tutorial College Ohio University _______________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Graduation from the Honors Tutorial College with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Art History ______________________________________ by Jessica Xiao Jin Long May 2020 ABSTRACT In my thesis, I trace the niche that women have created for themselves in the tattoo community, with a focus on the United States. I discuss the relationship between increasing visibility for women in the tattoo industry and the shift in women’s status in American culture. My study concludes with contemporary tattooed women, including prominent female tattoo artists, collectors, and media personalities. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: TATTOOS AND THE WOMEN WHO WEAR THEM 1-2 LITERATURE REVIEW 3-12 CH 1. FOUNDING FEMALES: THE TATTOOED LADIES 13-41 DIME MUSEUMS 15-18 THE FIRST TATTOOED LADIES 19-27 SELF-MADE FREAKS 27-30 THE CARNIVAL FREAK SHOW 30-34 NEW TATTOOED WOMEN 34-38 CONTINUING INFLUENCES 38-40 CH 2. FEMINISM AND RENAISSANCE 42-77 VIOLENCE AND MASCULINITY 46-52 TECHNICAL TRANSFORMATIONS 52-57 TATTOOS AS FINE ART 57-61 CELEBRITIES AND COUNTERCULTURE 61-64 THE SECOND WAVE 64-69 TATTOOING FEMINISM 69-74 CH 3. MIDDLE CLASS ACCEPTANCE & MASS COMMODIFICATION 78-119 PUNK TRIBALISM 80-86 END OF THE CENTURY ARTISTS 86-88 MIDDLE CLASS ACCEPTANCE 89-94 TATTOO MAGAZINES 95-97 MODERN PRIMITIVES 98-103 MAGAZINE MADNESS & INKED COVER GIRLS 103-107 TATTOOS ON TV 107-112 SEXUALITY AND STARDOM 112-116 CH 4.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Original 300.85 KB
    Performing the Idealized Judaism: Processes of Jewish Missionary Work at Franklin and Marshall College Ilana Meira Weiss Hirsh Independent Study for Departmental Honors in Anthropology Spring 2017 May 1, 2017 1 Introduction Sometime in March, I ventured into the Klehr Center for admittedly self-serving reasons - - in search of a vessel for the smoothie I intended to make as an afternoon snack. “Swag,” as it is colloquially known, consists of branded items, such as reusable mugs, cups, stickers, and other commodities. In this case, these items bear Hillel International’s logo. I caught Dean Lewis on his way out the door, and asked, nervously, if there were any cups left. “Of course! We’d love to have you promote us,” he told me, somewhat facetiously. I quickly wrote this phrase down when I returned home to make that smoothie. Previously, I had no understanding as to the motivations behind the seemingly endless “swag” that Hillel extends to its students. The table with these commodities features prominently when one first walks in, and students must pass it on their way to the dining room on Friday evenings. Clearly, students and administrators engage in this project of religious promotion at Hillel. The Jewish Engagement Fellows (JEFs) are tasked with finding unengaged Jewish students, and encouraging these individuals to attend Hillel. While Chabad may seemingly conform better to conceptualizations of missionary work, both organizations engage in distinct processes of missionization, as I will articulate in this thesis. When I first began formulating this project, it looked quite different than it does now. In Spring 2016, I envisioned an ethnographic inquiry into Jewish political thought and identity on Franklin and Marshall’s campus.
    [Show full text]
  • Media Culture: Cultural Studies, Identity and Politics Between The
    Media Culture Media Culture develops methods and analyses of contemporary film, television, music, and other artifacts to discern their nature and effects. The book argues that media culture is now the dominant form of culture which socializes us and provides materials for identity in terms of both social reproduction and change. Through studies of Reagan and Rambo, horror films and youth films, rap music and African- American culture, Madonna, fashion, television news and entertainment, MTV, Beavis and Butt-Head, the Gulf War as cultural text, cyberpunk fiction and postmodern theory, Kellner provides a series of lively studies that both illuminate contemporary culture and provide methods of analysis and critique. Many people today talk about cultural studies, but Kellner actually does it, carrying through a unique mixture of theoretical analysis and concrete discussions of some of the most popular and influential forms of contemporary media culture. Criticizing social context, political struggle, and the system of cultural production, Kellner develops a multidimensional approach to cultural studies that broadens the field and opens it to a variety of disciplines. He also provides new approaches to the vexed question of the effects of culture and offers new perspectives for cultural studies. Anyone interested in the nature and effects of contemporary society and culture should read this book. Kellner argues that we are in a state of transition between the modern era and a new postmodern era and that media culture offers a privileged field of study and one that is vital if we are to grasp the full import of the changes currently shaking us.
    [Show full text]