Habitus: A Diaspora Journal
Encyclopedia
Habitus: A Diaspora Journal is a semiannual magazine of international literature and culture.
The magazine's mission statement begins: "Habitus is a Jewish magazine that takes the whole world seriously. Our starting point is international Jewry; but this is only the beginning of a far-reaching inquiry that seeks to capture a profoundly modern viewpoint that is both expansive and inclusive.
Habitus takes its shape from the elusive concept known as the Diaspora
– that untidy mix of longing and belonging, past and place. It represents an experience that is both personal and universal. The Diaspora condition confounds and consumes, even as it touches more and more lives around the globe. This thematic thread will speak to contemporary readers – of all backgrounds – who feel the pull of complex identities and biographies, and who wrestle with what it means to be truly at home."
According to a feature in the The Forward
by staff writer Nathan Popper, Habitus "operating premise is that the relation of Jews to their far-flung homes — in places like Buenos Aires and Sarajevo and New Orleans — has a great deal to tell us not only about Jewish life but also about the modern experience with all its dislocation and movement."
Each issue of the magazine is dedicated to writing about a different city, and features Jewish writers alongside leading non-Jewish voices. The journal's debut issue in the fall of 2006 was dedicated to Budapest
. The second issue, released in June 2007, is dedicated to Sarajevo
. Future issues will include Buenos Aires
, New Orleans, and other cities.
Some of the journal's contributors include George Konrad, Aleksandar Hemon
, Semezdin Mehmedinović
, David Rieff
, Ágnes Heller
, Peter Zilahy
, Courtney Angela Brkic
, and George Szirtes
.
The magazine's mission statement begins: "Habitus is a Jewish magazine that takes the whole world seriously. Our starting point is international Jewry; but this is only the beginning of a far-reaching inquiry that seeks to capture a profoundly modern viewpoint that is both expansive and inclusive.
Habitus takes its shape from the elusive concept known as the Diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
– that untidy mix of longing and belonging, past and place. It represents an experience that is both personal and universal. The Diaspora condition confounds and consumes, even as it touches more and more lives around the globe. This thematic thread will speak to contemporary readers – of all backgrounds – who feel the pull of complex identities and biographies, and who wrestle with what it means to be truly at home."
According to a feature in the The Forward
The Forward
The Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...
by staff writer Nathan Popper, Habitus "operating premise is that the relation of Jews to their far-flung homes — in places like Buenos Aires and Sarajevo and New Orleans — has a great deal to tell us not only about Jewish life but also about the modern experience with all its dislocation and movement."
Each issue of the magazine is dedicated to writing about a different city, and features Jewish writers alongside leading non-Jewish voices. The journal's debut issue in the fall of 2006 was dedicated to Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. The second issue, released in June 2007, is dedicated to Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
. Future issues will include Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, New Orleans, and other cities.
Some of the journal's contributors include George Konrad, Aleksandar Hemon
Aleksandar Hemon
Aleksandar Hemon is a Bosnian-American fiction writer. He is the winner of a MacArthur Foundation grant. He has written four acclaimed books: Love and Obstacles: Stories , The Lazarus Project: A Novel , which was a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle...
, Semezdin Mehmedinović
Semezdin Mehmedinovic
Semezdin Mehmedinović is a Bosnian writer, filmmaker, and magazine editor.After studying Librarianship and Comparative Literature in Sarajevo, he worked as an editor of "Lica" and "Valter" magazines, which served as a voice of opposition to the ruling Communist regime...
, David Rieff
David Rieff
David Rieff is an American polemicist and pundit. His books have focused on issues of immigration, international conflict, and humanitarianism...
, Ágnes Heller
Ágnes Heller
Ágnes Heller is a Hungarian philosopher. A prominent Marxist thinker at first, she moved onto a liberal, social-democratic position later in her career...
, Peter Zilahy
Peter Zilahy
Péter Zilahy is a writer and performer whose prose and poetry has been widely translated and who has often used photography, interactive media and performance art in his work.-Literary work:...
, Courtney Angela Brkic
Courtney Angela Brkic
Courtney Angela Brkic is Croatian American memoirist, short story writer, and academic.-Life:She is a native of Washington, D.C., grew up in Arlington, Virginia, and graduated from Yorktown High School...
, and George Szirtes
George Szirtes
George Szirtes is a Hungarian-born British poet, writing in English, as well as a translator from the Hungarian language into English. He has lived in the United Kingdom for most of his life.-Life:...
.