Synopses & Reviews
There is an elaborate and often invisible carnival that emerges alongside presidential campaigns as innumerable activist groups attempt to press their issues into mainstream political discourse. Sarah Sobieraj's fascinating ethnographic portrait of fifty diverse organizations over the course of two campaign cycles reveals that while most activist groups equate political success with media success and channel their energies accordingly, their efforts fail to generate news coverage and come with deleterious consequences. Sobieraj shows that activists' impact on public political debates is minimal, and carefully unravels the ways in which their all-consuming media work and unrelenting public relations approach undermine their ability to communicate with pedestrians, comes at the expense of other political activities, and perhaps most perniciously, damages the groups themselves.
Weaving together fieldwork, news analysis, and in-depth interviews with activists and journalists, Soundbitten illuminates the relationship between news and activist organizations. This captivating portrait of activism in the United States lays bare the challenges faced by outsiders struggling to be heard in a mass media dominated public sphere that proves exclusionary and shows that media-centrism is not only ineffective, but also damaging to group life. Soundbitten reveals why media-centered activism so often fails, what activist groups lose in the process, and why we should all be concerned.
Review
"Sarah Sobieraj's Soundbitten is important, insightful, and disturbing. With gripping detail, she shows how activist groups try to get some of the spotlight that surrounds political conventions, and use mass media to project an image of themselves and their concerns. It's an uphill struggle, and media are far more willing to cover colorful events than cogent arguments. What's worse, in trying to cultivate the spotlight, organizations undermine their own capacity to promote meaningful political debate. Seeking legitimation from mainstream media, Sobieraj shows, seems like the unavoidable—and almost impossible— struggle for activists."-David S. Meyer,University of California, Irvine
Review
"Soundbitten is an astute, engagingly written study of the dynamics and costs of media obsession by activist groups. Sarah Sobieraj busts the cliches of both movement organizations and sociologists with aplomb."-Todd Gitlin,Columbia University
Review
"Drawing on her extensive participant observation of social-movement organizations during several presidential campaigns, Sarah Sobieraj demonstrates how the pervasive mediatization of politics has jeopardized the ability of dissenting groups to engage in public discourse and so has altered the very fabric of both social movements and the civil society that the news media claim to inform."-Gaye Tuchman,author of Making News: A Study in the Construction of Reality
Review
"A most welcome event. Now, in one easily accessible volume, all the collective wisdom of some of the very best contemporary Jewish scholarship is at one's fingertips." -Steven T. Katz,Cornell University
Review
"As a teacher of a modern Jewish history course, I'll constantly be referring my students to this collection of insightful articles on major issues relating to modern Jewish identity by some of today's leading Jewish Studies scholars." -Lawrence Baron Nasatir,Professor of Modern Jewish History and Director, Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies, San Diego State University
Review
"In this sweeping volume, fourteen of American Jewry's best scholars and thinkers confront the central issues that define Jews and Judaism in the modern world. . . . One emerges with renewed appreciation for the tragedies, hopes, ideals and paradoxes of twentieth century Jewish life."-Jonathan D. Sarna,Joseph H., and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University
Review
"Using her own fieldwork observations as a baseline, Sobieraj shows how activist groups' expectations of media coverage often fail to pan out. In this respect, the author provides a contemporary update to the conclusions of earlier scholars..."-S.B. Lichtman,Choice
Review
"Soundbitten is a compelling book whose insightful analysis is well supported by rich empirical data. It is a welcome contribution to the literature on politics, media, and activism."-Katrina Kimport,American Journal of Sociology
Review
“Soundbitten is a well-written and engaging book that both you and your students will enjoy. Sobierajs writing is accessible and the book is rife with interesting examples and colorful pictures that make the events outside of the conventions come alive... In short, Sobieraj outlines new avenues for research on civil society and the public sphere and we ignore her findings at our own peril.”-Deana A. Rohlinger,Contemporary Sociology
Review
“Beyond its utility for activists, Soundbitten is essential for scholars of social movements and activism and would be a great read for an undergraduate or graduate social movements or political communication course. Additionally, this book is a valuable read for those interested in public relations—practitioners and scholars alike—because it gives such detailed insights into the complex relationships between groups seeking media attention and the journalists reporting on them.”-Michael P. Boyle,Political Science Quarterly
Synopsis
As anti-semitism finds new followers and Israel makes peace with old enemies, Jews in the modern world face constantly metamorphosizing relationships. From the eighteenth century to the present, unprecedented opportunities have grown up alongside new challenges for the Jewish people. While modern society is permitting Judaism a place, profound questions over Jewish identity are taking shape.
The essays gathered in Judaism in the Modern World address the issue of Jewish persistence amidst changing forms of identity. Exploring a wide range of sources, the essayists examine historical issues, the Holocaust and its repercussions, literature, and theological dimensions while seeking the nature of Judaism in modern times. As they reassess Judaism's past while pursuing a meaningful Jewish future, these essays raise crucial questions about the tradition's central mythic structures, such as covenant and redemption.
The contributors to this volume broach everything from feminism to the creation of the state of Israel. Sander Gilman illustrates how Jewish identity is inextricably linked to the physical, showing how racial identity both reflects and defines Jewishness. Raul Hilberg examines Holocaust remembrance, in the wake of Holocaust denial, as an act of revolt. A wide-ranging and thoughtful collection, Judaism in the Modern World will appeal to readers concerned with the fate of Judaism in the modern era.
About the Author
Alan L. Bergeris the Director of Jewish Studies and teaches in the Department of Religion at Syracuse University. The author/editor of four books, including Crisis and Covenant, he is on the editorial board of Studies in American Jewish Literature and has served as a judge for the National Jewish Book Awards.