Migration

• In Event: Transnational potentials in (American) Jewish studies and its various subfields

Abstract

Although most authors who endorse the transnational approach identify migration as a key field of study, surprisingly few migration historians have risen to the challenge. Most studies in the field of migration history after 1800 focus on migrations to or from a specific state, often of specific groups. An interesting parallel case illustrates why migration historians have shown limited interest in transnational approaches. In the field of Jewish history after 1800, the nation state paradigm remains of great importance. The Jewish Diaspora can look back on a long and vibrant tradition of exchange and cooperation across cultural and political borders in different parts of the world, before and after 1800. Yet, surprisingly few studies in the field of modern Jewish history take a transnational approach. Important exceptions are studies that treat the Jewish experience in the large multiethnic (and other) empires during the long nineteenth century. In my contribution I want to discuss why many scholars in modern Jewish history and migration history remain reluctant to move outside of the long shadow of the modern state.

Author

• Tobias Brinkmann, Penn State University