June 24, 2025
Many of us are likely aware of a scholarly series put out by NYU Press on "Keywords.” Keith Feldman has co-authored an essay in their "Keywords Now" series that unspools the term "antisemitic" as a keyword indexing deeply contradictory histories and meanings:
The writing team's hope is to provide a scholarly resource that places the term in a history of capitalism, colonialism, and their dependence on racism and group differentiation, especially on the basis of gender, sexuality and ability; that cuts through (and assesses) the contemporary contradictory deployments of the term; and that strengthens our critical analytics in the service of more flourishing futures for all.