Jewish Identities in the American West uses a well-theorized …

Jewish Identities in the American West uses a well-theorized “relational” approach to help readers understand how Jewishness has been construed, and sometimes racialized, in different ways in different times, in relation to other minorities’ experiences, construals and racializations. Complicating the simple “whitening” thesis, the contributors to this volume think of their Jewish subjects alongside Black, Chinese, Indigenous and Mexican peoples, resulting in a volume in deep dialogue with both Western U.S. and global Jewish diaspora studies’ scholars. Eisenberg offers a brilliant introduction, with fittingly nuanced perspective about Jewishness and difference in the American West. She also provides useful through-line section introductions that weave together the book’s timely, well-informed, fine-grained, readable, and fascinating case studies.