Jewish Latin America20 Coming of Age as Syrian Mexicans

A vivid and accessible linguistic ethnography, this book explores how Shami and Halebi Jews in Mexico City negotiate diasporic identities amid communal, national, and global shifts, offering an innovative model for the study of Jewish Latin America and diaspora more broadly. Coming of Age as Syrian Jewish Mexicans is a linguistic ethnography of Shami and Halebi Jews in contemporary Mexico City. Through a focus on language in everyday life – including narrative, humor, and Arabic and Hebrew “heritage words” - the book explores how young adults negotiate oft-stigmatized, diasporic identities amid national shifts toward neoliberalism and the transnational expansion of Jewish ultra-Orthodoxy. Accessible yet richly theorized, the book introduces linguistic anthropological concepts and guides readers through their application to audiovisual data. This innovative approach promotes empathetic understanding of a lesser-known Jewish Latin American context and opens new lines of inquiry into the phenomenon of diaspora in a rapidly changing world.

Pagina's: 274, Hardcover, Koninklijke Brill BV