Jewish Studies Commons^™

Redefining Diaspora Consciousness: Musical Practices Of Moroccan Jews In Brooklyn, Samuel Reuben Thomas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines the role of musical practices in the synagogue life of Maroka'im (Moroccan Jews) in Brooklyn, New York. Living in an urban setting known for its diverse and robust Jewish life, community members utilize several different types of musical expression to emblematize three distinct diasporic ethnic identities: Jewish (of ancient Israel), Sephardi (Spanish), and Maroka'i (Moroccan). Based upon ethnographic fieldwork carried out between 2008 and 2013, this study demonstrates how Maroka'im in Brooklyn use musical expressions to evoke more than one sense of diaspora consciousness--Jewish, Sephardi, and Maroka'i--to foster what I term a layered diaspora consciousness.

To illustrate …

An Overview Of Ladino: The Origins, Survival And Resurgence Of Judeo-Spanish, Rachel S. Goodman

MA TESOL Collection

This paper will examine the historic and linguistic roots of the development of the language of Ladino, also referred to as Judeo-Spanish. The paper explores the early Jewish community in medieval Spain and the development of a dialect of Spanish and Hebrew. The paper will also examine the results of the community’s expulsion from Spain in the 1490s and the consequential Diaspora. The paper analyzes the linguistic components of Ladino and the role of print media, both journalistic and creative, in its survival. The paper also discusses the resurgence in interest in Ladino since the Holocaust and its current uses …