Constructing the Jewish "Other" in Chinese museums
Constructing the Jewish "Other" in Chinese museums
Based on fieldwork conducted in 2016 and 2018 during my "Sites and Sights of Commemoration: Chinese Commemorative Museums and Films" research project, this presentation examines how Jews and Jewishness are discursively constructed in museums and heritage sites in Harbin and Shanghai, which were formerly refuges for Jews fleeing Central Europe and Russia in the early to mid 20th century. Currently lauded as a model group in Chinese popular media for their "intelligence" and "business sense," although borrowing from anti-Semitic tropes, this overall discourse about Jews is largely philo-Semitic; furthermore, Jews are seen as a group to emulate, and ‘secrets to success’ attributed to them have become popular topics in self-help literature. In this presentation, I examine how museums with Jewish content celebrate the group, while also emphasizing the role of the Chinese nation and Chinese people in protecting 20th century Jewish refugees from genocide. By examining the textual, visual and material culture in the exhibitions, I argue that the protective role of the state positions the nation and its people as generous benefactors to a "worthy" Other that, unlike other foreign groups (such as Japan and the Western maritime powers), did not seek to colonise or imperialise China but take refuge, thus offering an alternative patriotic and moral narrative to China’s encounters with the international world.
China, Museums, jewish history, jewish/non-jewish relationships, refugee & migration studies, Chinese-Jewish Relations, WWII
Schultz, Corey Kai Nelson
4df94248-6850-4238-acb3-6e0f1a7a4205
Schultz, Corey Kai Nelson
4df94248-6850-4238-acb3-6e0f1a7a4205
Schultz, Corey Kai Nelson
(2018)
Constructing the Jewish "Other" in Chinese museums.
Visualising Asia: Deciphering ‘Otherness’ in Visual and Material Cultures, SOAS University of London, London, United Kingdom.
20 - 21 Sep 2018.
(In Press)
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
Based on fieldwork conducted in 2016 and 2018 during my "Sites and Sights of Commemoration: Chinese Commemorative Museums and Films" research project, this presentation examines how Jews and Jewishness are discursively constructed in museums and heritage sites in Harbin and Shanghai, which were formerly refuges for Jews fleeing Central Europe and Russia in the early to mid 20th century. Currently lauded as a model group in Chinese popular media for their "intelligence" and "business sense," although borrowing from anti-Semitic tropes, this overall discourse about Jews is largely philo-Semitic; furthermore, Jews are seen as a group to emulate, and ‘secrets to success’ attributed to them have become popular topics in self-help literature. In this presentation, I examine how museums with Jewish content celebrate the group, while also emphasizing the role of the Chinese nation and Chinese people in protecting 20th century Jewish refugees from genocide. By examining the textual, visual and material culture in the exhibitions, I argue that the protective role of the state positions the nation and its people as generous benefactors to a "worthy" Other that, unlike other foreign groups (such as Japan and the Western maritime powers), did not seek to colonise or imperialise China but take refuge, thus offering an alternative patriotic and moral narrative to China’s encounters with the international world.
Text
Constructing the Jewish "Other" in Chinese Museums - PPT Slides
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 21 September 2018
Venue - Dates:
Visualising Asia: Deciphering ‘Otherness’ in Visual and Material Cultures, SOAS University of London, London, United Kingdom, 2018-09-20 - 2018-09-21
Keywords:
China, Museums, jewish history, jewish/non-jewish relationships, refugee & migration studies, Chinese-Jewish Relations, WWII
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 425764
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/425764
PURE UUID: bdb64a55-afe6-44a4-823e-145b32d4d56c
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 02 Nov 2018 17:30
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 03:01
Export record
Contributors
Author:
Corey Kai Nelson Schultz
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics