Land and Desire in Early Zionism
9781584659686
9781611680157
Distributed for Brandeis University Press
Land and Desire in Early Zionism
This innovative study examines the responses of early-twentieth-century pioneers to “the Land” of Palestine. Early Zionist historiography portrayed these young settlers as heroic; later, more critical studies by the “new” historians and sociologists focused on their failures and shortcomings. Neumann argues for something else that historians have yet to identify—desire. Desire for the Land and a visceral identification with it begin to explain the pioneer experience and its impact on Israeli history and collective memory, as well as on Israelis’ abiding connection to the Land of Israel. His close readings of archival documents, memoirs, diaries, poetry, and prose of the period develop new understandings—many of them utterly surprising—of the Zionist enterprise. For Neumann, the Zionist revolution was an existential revolution: for the pioneers, to be in the Land of Israel was to be!
264 pages | 6 1/4 x 9 1/4 | © 2011
The Schusterman Series in Israel Studies
History: Middle Eastern History
![Brandeis University Press image](/dam/ucp/books/publishers/insert_logo_bra.png.jpg)
Table of Contents
Preface • Acknowledgments • Pioneers and Pioneerism • Desire and Rebirth • Dissolving Boundaries • Articulating the Physical Territory of the Land • Articulating the Pioneer Body • Pioneer Language: The Conquest of Hebrew • Bibliography • Notes • Index
Be the first to know
Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!