Insecure Whiteness: Jews Between Civilization an
Sandra McGee Deutsch's "Insecure Whiteness: Jews Between Civilization and Barbarism, 1880s–1940s" examines the complex racial identity of Jews in Argentina during this period. The work challenges the prevailing narrative that Argentina was constructed as a homogeneously white nation by exploring how Jews, despite their European and Mediterranean origins, were often perceived as racially ambiguous. The book delves into the contrasting views of Jews by prominent Argentine figures like Manuel Gálvez and Leopoldo Lugones, who depicted Jews as either barbaric or civilized, respectively. Deutsch uses the binary of civilization versus barbarism, a concept popularized by President Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, to analyze how Jews were racialized in cultural rather than phenotypical terms. The book also explores how Jews asserted their whiteness through cultural assimilation, economic contributions, and distancing themselves from other racialized groups. Additionally, it highlights the role of gender and manliness in racial categorization, as well as the spatial dynamics of Jewish identity in rural versus urban settings. The work draws on scholarship from both the United States and Latin America to contextualize the racial constructions of Jews, emphasizing the fluidity and complexity of racial categories in Argentina.
By Sandra McGee Deutsch · First published 2007 · Genre: Academic Nonfiction, Cultural Criticism, Jewish Studies · 6 chapters · 16,521 words
First lines
With its large percentage of inhabitants descended from European immigrants, Argentina has not had as obvious a racial Other as such Latin American countries as Brazil or Mexico. Scholars have begun to examine in detail Argentine notions of blackness – sometimes identified with persons of African ancestry, more often with mestizos from the Interior, and frequently with poor people of varied backgrounds – and how they have changed over time.$^1$ Yet the construction of whiteness is equally deserving of attention. The prevailing historical narrative contends that before the advent of Peronism, "the nation had been constructed as homogeneously white. "$^2$ It also suggests that Argentines viewed immigrants from Europe and the circum-Mediterranean region as uniformly white.$^3$ My research indicates that this was not necessarily the case for Jews, whose whiteness was suspect despite their European and Mediterranean origins. How can one conceptualize the racial constructions of Jews, whom Argentines rarely described in explicitly phenotypical terms, yet sometimes seemed to regard as a race apart? How did Jews assert their whiteness? The reflections of two famous literary figures, Manuel Gálvez and Leopoldo Lugones, provide initial clues.
Genres
- Academic Nonfiction — A scholarly work examining cultural, racial, and historical discourse using academic research methods.
- Cultural Criticism — Analyzes cultural narratives and representations of race and identity, particularly whiteness and Jewish identity.
- Jewish Studies — Focuses on the construction and perception of Jewish identity within broader cultural and societal frameworks.
- History — Situates analysis within a specific historical period (1880s–1940s) and examines historical narratives.
Tags
antisemitism · Jewish studies · whiteness studies · racial identity · modernity · European history · civilization · barbarism · social theory · critical race theory · ethnic studies · discrimination
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Insecure Whiteness: Jews Between Civilization and Barbarism, 1880s–1940s is listed on Textopian as an article by Sandra McGee Deutsch, dated 2007 CE.
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- Work type: Article
- Author: Sandra McGee Deutsch
- Date: 2007 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Academic Nonfiction, Cultural Criticism, Jewish Studies, History, Critical Race Theory
- Length: 16,521 words
- Structure: 6 chapters, 239 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)
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Contents
- Introduction
- A Context of Suspicion and Ambiguity
- Claiming Whiteness in the Colonies
- Sephardi and Syrian Jews
- Sensuality and Prostitution
- Conclusion