College English, Vol. 72, No. 6, July 2010

Table of Contents

• Talmidae Rhetoricae: Drashing Up Models and Methods for Jewish Rhetorical Studies

  Janice W. Fernheimer

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: The guest editor introduces the issue’s essays by reviewing previous scholarship on Jewish rhetorical studies. She points out that the question of how to define a distinctly “Jewish” rhetoric is hard to resolve. Ultimately, she argues, an author’s or text’s relation to Jewish traditions should be pragmatically determined, through analysis of specific historical or geographical contexts.

• The Philosopher, the Rabbi, and the Rhetorician

  Susan Handelman

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: The author explores the topic of Jewish rhetorics by examining how particular Jewish thinkers have conceptualized the ethical relation between self and other. She draws particular attention to the tacit rhetorical methodology at work in the teachings of Rabbi Yéhouda Léon Askénazi. She shows that he distinguished himself from the more well-known philosopher Emmanuel Levinas by calling for reciprocity between human beings, including within the relationship between giver and receiver.

• “By the Rivers of Babylon”: Deterritorialization and the Jewish Rhetorical Stance

  Michael Bernard-Donals

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: In Madison, Wisconsin, a series of debates occurred about the possible establishment of a sister-city relationship with Rafah, a city in Gaza. The tension and miscommunication within these debates point to the value of taking what the author terms an exilic rhetorical position, a stand that would not be tied to claims of firm identity or territoriality.

• A Virtual Veibershul: Blogging and the Blurring of Public and Private among Orthodox Jewish Women

  Andrea Lieber

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: The blogs of various Orthodox Jewish women show that the digital realm enables them to blend the public and the private. That is, it allows them to participate in Jewish life without breaking the laws of modesty that otherwise prevent them from such public engagement.

• The “Place” of Rhetoric in Aggadic Midrash

  David Metzger and Steven B. Katz

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: The authors define midrash and explain its importance as a Jewish rhetorical practice, focusing on how two particular examples of midrash deal with the deity’s response to the destruction of the Temple.

• Announcements

• Thanks to Our Referees

• Index to Volume 72

* Journal articles are provided in PDF format and can be opened using the free Adobe® Reader® program or a comparable viewer. Click here to download and install the most recent version of Adobe Reader.