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A review by chamomiledaydreams
Parting Ways: Jewishness and the Critique of Zionism by Judith Butler
challenging
2.0
I assume that Judith Butler accomplishes what they set out to do with these essays, but personally, I did not find them especially mind-blowing or insightful. I felt like I was wading through a bog of complicated words such as "chiasma," "cathected," and "prosopeia" only to derive a meaning that could have been explained in much simpler terms.
For example, I thought it was interesting to discuss the idea of faces and how looking at another person's face humanizes them yet simultaneously compels the viewer to turn away in shame at the thought of how their existence has hurt another person's. I thought that this "theory" presented a great opportunity to analyze how Palestinians are often rendered faceless as people deny their very existence and refuse to see how they are suffering at the hands of the state of Israel.
But the majority of these sections in "Parting Ways" were occupied with overly complicated notions of alterity that made my head spin to read each sentence. It was simultaneously too complicated and not deep enough, because when I finally understood "the point" of such sections, I felt underwhelmed. "Is that it?" I thought. "All those complicated words and circuitous sentences for such meager payoff?"
Perhaps my feelings stem from the fact that this book is outdated, with a new decade of history concerning Israel and Palestine that Judith Butler does not include in their analysis, because it hadn't happened at the time of their writing. "Parting Ways" may have been just what I needed, if I had been learning more about the Israel-Palestine conflict ten years ago.
I wonder if Butler's philosophical background is another barrier for me with regards to these essays. I took one (1) philosophy course in college and was quite annoyed by most of the texts that I read, feeling as though the philosophers in questions weren't hitting upon any truths and were "proving" things without a solid basis. I imagine that Judith Butler is doing a great job of philosophical critique; but if I'm not interested in the philosophy they're using as a base, then it's no wonder that I'm not getting as much out of their essays as another, more philosophically inclined reader might.
This is probably how non-English majors felt when I asked them to proofread my essays about literature—and it's worth noting that I felt most at ease during the final chapter, when Butler was analyzing a poem. I have been taught to recognize the value of analyzing poetry more than philosophical texts/theories, so many of Butler's analyses left me feeling confused and uninterested.
This is the third text that I've read about Israel and Palestine, and it is the last one I would recommend to people. It assumes a familiarity with the subject, making it unsuitable for those who know little about the conflict. It is definitely not an introductory text. But if you know most of the history of Palestine and Israel and want some philosophical theorizing about it, then this is certainly a good book for you.
For example, I thought it was interesting to discuss the idea of faces and how looking at another person's face humanizes them yet simultaneously compels the viewer to turn away in shame at the thought of how their existence has hurt another person's. I thought that this "theory" presented a great opportunity to analyze how Palestinians are often rendered faceless as people deny their very existence and refuse to see how they are suffering at the hands of the state of Israel.
But the majority of these sections in "Parting Ways" were occupied with overly complicated notions of alterity that made my head spin to read each sentence. It was simultaneously too complicated and not deep enough, because when I finally understood "the point" of such sections, I felt underwhelmed. "Is that it?" I thought. "All those complicated words and circuitous sentences for such meager payoff?"
Perhaps my feelings stem from the fact that this book is outdated, with a new decade of history concerning Israel and Palestine that Judith Butler does not include in their analysis, because it hadn't happened at the time of their writing. "Parting Ways" may have been just what I needed, if I had been learning more about the Israel-Palestine conflict ten years ago.
I wonder if Butler's philosophical background is another barrier for me with regards to these essays. I took one (1) philosophy course in college and was quite annoyed by most of the texts that I read, feeling as though the philosophers in questions weren't hitting upon any truths and were "proving" things without a solid basis. I imagine that Judith Butler is doing a great job of philosophical critique; but if I'm not interested in the philosophy they're using as a base, then it's no wonder that I'm not getting as much out of their essays as another, more philosophically inclined reader might.
This is probably how non-English majors felt when I asked them to proofread my essays about literature—and it's worth noting that I felt most at ease during the final chapter, when Butler was analyzing a poem. I have been taught to recognize the value of analyzing poetry more than philosophical texts/theories, so many of Butler's analyses left me feeling confused and uninterested.
This is the third text that I've read about Israel and Palestine, and it is the last one I would recommend to people. It assumes a familiarity with the subject, making it unsuitable for those who know little about the conflict. It is definitely not an introductory text. But if you know most of the history of Palestine and Israel and want some philosophical theorizing about it, then this is certainly a good book for you.