Personal Identity Confronts the Modern State
Jewish Tales from Russia, France, and Israel
September 16, 2009
“Is my identity really mine?” In the modern world, the State has acquired the symbolic power to delineate and shape our personal and collective identities through official identity documents, census ethnic and cultural categories, and public narratives, all of which promote and value specific political and cultural identifications over others. State-ascribed cultural and political norms have transformed the most personal and intimate ways in which we see, define, and present ourselves. Jews’ encounter with the modern French Republic (1792), the Soviet State (1922), and the State of Israel (1948) provide three fascinating examples of how individuals both resist and accommodate the State’s top-down identity politics. The Jewish paradigm, while interesting in its own right, will also anchor more general reflections about the contemporary politics of multiculturalism in Europe and the US.
Tell us what you think
