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A Goy Fiddler on the Roof: How the Non-Jewish Participants of the Klezmer Revival in Kraków Negotiate Their Polish Identity in a Confrontation with Jewishness

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Abstract

The revival of Jewish traditional music in Krakow, performed mostly by non-Jews, provokes the question about the relation of ethnic identity and ethnic music. How do Polish klezmer musicians and cultural organizers identify themselves with the Jewish culture that they cultivate? The interviews with the members of the klezmer milieu in Krakow indicate that the revival provokes them to undergo a complex process of negotiating their Polish identity in confrontation with Jewishness and the Jewish outlook on Polish history. The experience with the music of the "others" inspires them to revise their national myths and stereotypes. While doing that they adopt various techniques that help them achieve a positive identification with their ingroup.

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Volume/Issue

152

Page Number

367-382

Link

Link to article in JSTOR, A Goy Fiddler on the Roof: How the Non-Jewish Participants of the Klezmer Revival in Kraków Negotiate Their Polish Identity in a Confrontation with Jewishness
PDF (via academia.edu), A Goy Fiddler on the Roof: How the Non-Jewish Participants of the Klezmer Revival in Kraków Negotiate Their Polish Identity in a Confrontation with Jewishness

Bibliographic Information

Waligórska, Magdalena A Goy Fiddler on the Roof: How the Non-Jewish Participants of the Klezmer Revival in Kraków Negotiate Their Polish Identity in a Confrontation with Jewishness. Polish Sociological Review. 2005: 367-382.  https://archive.jpr.org.uk/object-pol32