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SOCIAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE PERCEPTION OF THE JEW AS “OTHER”: THE CASE OF LATVIAN LITERATURE
Abstract
The way one culture perceives another one is a multifaceted social and historical phenomenon. Historical, political, social context forms the basis of attitudes and perceptions. The perception of the “Hebrew text” demonstrated by European cultures is a specific model. The traditional opposition “self-other” becomes actualised in the relations towards the Jews. The opposition is a universal indicator of the attitude towards other people within the same culture. A specific model of religious, social and domestic traditions makes the Jews in the perception of other cultures exotic, different, foreign. In the cultural space of Latvia, the Jewish model has always occupied a special place. The attitude towards the Jews changed depending on the overall political and social tendencies. Various components of public consciousness (politics, ideology, religion, communication) influenced the shift of emphasis in the opposition “self-other” revealed towards the Jews. Literature turns out to be one of the reflections of such attitudes, which are presented in an art form, rather than in a documentary one. If 19th century literature displays a specific socio-cultural situation, where the Jews are an integral part of the Latvian world, then in 20th century literature there appears a certain system of opposition. The opposition “we-other” is actualised in connection with the search for a model of national identity. The theme of the involvement of the Jews into the revolutionary movement turns out to be important. Finally, explicitly anti-Semitic literature appears to have anthropological significance. The Jews as a constituent part of Latvian literature is presented in a variety of stereotypical and historical perceptions, reflecting the social and historical aspects of the historical memory.
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