REVIEWS
[T]his is a readable, illuminating, and in many ways pathbreaking book. Highly recommended. - J. D. Sarna, Brandeis University
An impressive synthesis of ethnography and cultural history.... richly documented and analyzed. -- J. Boyarin, Cornell University
Read the full review here
With the eyes of an anthropologist attuned to history, Alanna Cooper provides a path into the past, culture, and evolving identities of Bukharan Jews as they became enmeshed in global forces from the 19th century onward. The book's journey of discovery leads to a grasp of Jewish social and religious life that is transnational in its scope. Cooper's interweaving of anthropology and history contributes to a robust and expanding paradigm of Jewish Studies. --Harvey E. Goldberg, editor of Sephardi and Middle Eastern Jewries (1996)
Innovative and thought provoking, this well researched and well constructed book . . . provides a valuable contribution to the understanding of the dynamics of Jewish identities. . . . The Bukharan Jewish community can be taken as a case study of Jewish diasporic dynamics and forces. The book demonstrates and analyzes—both historically and ethnographically—the mechanisms that underlie the sense of oneness between the Bukharan Jews and Jewish communities in other cultural contexts. --Hagar Salamon, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Makes an important reading for anyone interested in the Bukharan Jewish community, in the existence of a basically indigenous minority community in Muslim Central Asia or in diaspora studies in general. --Yaakov Ro'i, Tel Aviv University
Cooper tells us a lot about the history, religious characteristics, and folkways of these people. Her primary intention in this book is not, however, to describe them so much as it is to utilize them to consider what her subtitle refers to as “the dynamics of global Judaism.” -Allan Arkush, Binghamton University. Read the full review HERE
Makes an original and exciting contribution to the anthropology of Jewish communities and promises to become an important reference-point in social studies of Judaism. --Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
Written in an engaging style. . . Cooper situates her work within Jewish studies, but she provides enough explanation of her key interests and questions that a reader who knows little about Judaism will still find the work very accessible. Likewise, non-anthropologists will find her explanations of method and theory to be useful and easily understood." --Nationalities Papers
An important work that offers readers a insightful perspective of a Jewish group as it is transformed and shaped... The book is well written, well argued, and very readable. It will definitely become a must read in curricula dealing not only with Jewish studies but nationalities, Diaspora, and minorities studies as well. --H-Judaic
Combines ethnographic research with an extensive historical review of information on a little-studied Jewish community .... Cooper has collected a rich data set ranging from classroom observations in a Queens school to numerous conversations in the longstanding Bukharan community in Jerusalem. The book offers interesting insights on the maintenance of tradition under adverse conditions and its continuation in a global context" --Susan M. Chambre, Baruch College
Much interest will be provoked by this book in the transformation of Bukharan Jewish self-identity and especially the varieties of their Jewishness. Within these wide categories, this beautifully presented and well-written monograph adds to our understanding of this community." --Slavic Review
An impressive synthesis of ethnography and cultural history.... richly documented and analyzed. -- J. Boyarin, Cornell University
Read the full review here
With the eyes of an anthropologist attuned to history, Alanna Cooper provides a path into the past, culture, and evolving identities of Bukharan Jews as they became enmeshed in global forces from the 19th century onward. The book's journey of discovery leads to a grasp of Jewish social and religious life that is transnational in its scope. Cooper's interweaving of anthropology and history contributes to a robust and expanding paradigm of Jewish Studies. --Harvey E. Goldberg, editor of Sephardi and Middle Eastern Jewries (1996)
Innovative and thought provoking, this well researched and well constructed book . . . provides a valuable contribution to the understanding of the dynamics of Jewish identities. . . . The Bukharan Jewish community can be taken as a case study of Jewish diasporic dynamics and forces. The book demonstrates and analyzes—both historically and ethnographically—the mechanisms that underlie the sense of oneness between the Bukharan Jews and Jewish communities in other cultural contexts. --Hagar Salamon, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Makes an important reading for anyone interested in the Bukharan Jewish community, in the existence of a basically indigenous minority community in Muslim Central Asia or in diaspora studies in general. --Yaakov Ro'i, Tel Aviv University
Cooper tells us a lot about the history, religious characteristics, and folkways of these people. Her primary intention in this book is not, however, to describe them so much as it is to utilize them to consider what her subtitle refers to as “the dynamics of global Judaism.” -Allan Arkush, Binghamton University. Read the full review HERE
Makes an original and exciting contribution to the anthropology of Jewish communities and promises to become an important reference-point in social studies of Judaism. --Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
Written in an engaging style. . . Cooper situates her work within Jewish studies, but she provides enough explanation of her key interests and questions that a reader who knows little about Judaism will still find the work very accessible. Likewise, non-anthropologists will find her explanations of method and theory to be useful and easily understood." --Nationalities Papers
An important work that offers readers a insightful perspective of a Jewish group as it is transformed and shaped... The book is well written, well argued, and very readable. It will definitely become a must read in curricula dealing not only with Jewish studies but nationalities, Diaspora, and minorities studies as well. --H-Judaic
Combines ethnographic research with an extensive historical review of information on a little-studied Jewish community .... Cooper has collected a rich data set ranging from classroom observations in a Queens school to numerous conversations in the longstanding Bukharan community in Jerusalem. The book offers interesting insights on the maintenance of tradition under adverse conditions and its continuation in a global context" --Susan M. Chambre, Baruch College
Much interest will be provoked by this book in the transformation of Bukharan Jewish self-identity and especially the varieties of their Jewishness. Within these wide categories, this beautifully presented and well-written monograph adds to our understanding of this community." --Slavic Review
