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Enacting Jewish superdiversity at the boundary: classroom interaction in times of terror and war

Author(s): Gacic, Nina; Johnsen, Elisabeth Tveito

Date: 2026

Topics: October 7 2023 Attacks and Aftermath, Schools: Non-Jewish, Schools: Seconday / High Schools, Attitudes to Jews: Knowledge of Jews, Jewish Education, Main Topic: Education, Diversity

Abstract: This article explores superdiversity as enacted classroom interaction between upper-secondary pupils and young people who identify as Jews. The empirical material under study is part of an educational programme called ‘Jewish pathfinders’ launched by the Norwegian government in 2015. The purpose of the pathfinders’ work is to speak in school classrooms about everyday Jewish life as young people living in Norway, but the terror attacks of 7 October 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza have impacted on their classroom interactions. Building on Akkerman and Bakker’s article ‘Boundary Crossing and Boundary Objects’, we ask the following questions: How is Jewish superdiversity enacted in interactions between Jewish pathfinders and upper-secondary pupils in Norway? Furthermore, how is the boundary between upper-secondary pupils and Jewish pathfinders a particularly relevant site for learning about Jewish superdiversity? Our study reveals that learning at the boundary can be challenging and sometimes even impossible to achieve. Our theoretical contribution to the field is therefore three novel concepts: boundary acceptance, boundary closure, and barrier objects.