In the Company of Others: The Development of Anthropology in Israel

292 Pages·2015·3.63 MB·English

by  Orit Abuhav

in the
Company
of others
raphael patai series
in Jewish Folklore and anthropology
General editor
Dan Ben-Amos
University of Pennsylvania
advisory editors
Tamar Alexander-Frizer
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Haya Bar-Itzhak
University of Haifa
Simon J. Bronner
Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg
Harvey E. Goldberg
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Yuval Harari
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Galit Hasan-Rokem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Rella Kushelevsky
Bar-Ilan University
Eli Yassif
Tel Aviv University

© 2015 by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan 48201.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without formal permission.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015934521
ISBN 978-0-8143-3873-5 (jacketed cloth)
ISBN 978-0-8143-3874-2 (ebook)
This book was published with the support of
the Israel Science Foundation and additionally with
support of the fund for the Raphael Patai Series
in Jewish Folklore and Anthropology.
Contents
Foreword by Harvey E. Goldberg ix
Preface and Acknowledgments xv
one Anthropology in Israel: A Knowledge Field
in Israeli Culture and Society 1
Israeli Anthropology and Its Neighboring Disciplines:
Cohabition or Fenced-Off Plots? 7
The Geopolitical Boundaries of Israeli Anthropology 10
Keys to Interpretation and Analysis 11
Studying the History of Anthropology/Anthropologies 14
two Research, Teaching, and Academe from the Margins Inward:
An Emergent Discipline in an Emergent Society 17
Periods of Development 18
Points of View on the Discipline 18
Sources of Information 19
Anthropology at the Hebrew University:
Courtship and Rejections 20
Foreign Fields and Immigrants:
Anthropological Activity outside the Academy 34
Anthropology at the Universities after the Mid-1960s:
A Legitimate Pairing 44
Anthropologists at Museums 68
Anthropology at Colleges of Education 68
v
Applied Anthropologists 69
The National Agenda Shapes the Academic Agenda 70
Euro-Anglo-American Anthropology Shapes
Israeli Anthropology 72
three The Israeli Anthropological Association
as a Site of Anthropological Practice 75
The History and Nature of Professional Associations 75
Organizational, Professional, Scientific, National,
and Social Characteristics of the IAA 77
The IAA and the Boundaries of Anthropology 79
The IAA as an Israeli Association 82
The IAA as a Professional Organization 87
The IAA as a Guild 88
The Publication of an Anthropological Journal 91
Membership in the IAA as a Signifier of Identity 94
Political Activity and Social Engagement 94
The IAA as a Lever for Personal and Scientific
Development and Advancement 100
The IAA’s Autonomy 104
The Evolution of the IAA 105
four Life Courses of Israeli Anthropologists 107
(My) Introduction to Anthropology 108
Methods for Studying the Images and Life Paths
of Anthropologists 113
The Materials: Texts, Psychological Tests,
and Life-Course Narratives 117
The Interviewed Anthropologists 122
The Interviews: Context and Methodology 124
vi
Images in the Life Courses of Anthropologists in Israel 130
Motivations, Images, Drives, and Life Courses
of Anthropologists in Israel 171
Anthropologists in Israel: Characteristics and Numbers 184
five Israeli Anthropology: The Discipline at Home 187
Israeli Anthropologists Study Their Home 189
An Anthropologist Studying Anthropology
at Home: The Reflexive Dimension 212
Identities, Motives, and Drives: Anthropologists
Making Careers 214
The Role of Nationalism in the Creation of
Anthropological Knowledge in Israel: A Comparative
View with Other Disciplines 216
Anthropology Builds a Nation: A Comparative
View of Anthropology’s Contribution to Nation
Building in Turkey 222
Israelization of Anthropology and Anthropologization
of Israel 229
Applied Anthropology within and without the Academy 231
Between the Global and the Local, Center and Periphery,
Metropole and Provinces 232
Israeli Anthropology and Colonialism 234
Anthropology “On Behalf Of” and Anthropology
“For the Benefit Of” 239
Appendix: List of IAA Guests by Year 241
Notes 243
Bibliography 247
Index 269
vii