Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
Major/Program
Religious Studies
First Advisor's Name
Tudor Parfitt
First Advisor's Committee Title
Committee Chair
Second Advisor's Name
Oren Stier
Second Advisor's Committee Title
Committee Member
Third Advisor's Name
Whitney Bauman
Third Advisor's Committee Title
Committee Member
Keywords
Judaism, Jewish Identity, Sephardim, Sephardi Identity, Genetic Testing, Direct-to-Consumer DNA Testing, Population Genetics, Reference Populations, Ambiguity, Belonging
Date of Defense
3-22-2021
Abstract
Today, individuals may purchase genetic tests that promise to “reveal” one’s “true self” through ancestry composition reports, health reports, and lists of DNA relatives. Such tests add another dimension to the ongoing debate about what it means to be Jewish, but also what it means to be “legitimately” Sephardi. Through qualitative interviews, this thesis illuminates the experiences of Sephardim who received identity-affirming DNA test results and Sephardim who received identity non-affirming DNA test results. Findings suggest that contemporary Sephardim consider a link to the Iberian Peninsula as indicative of Sephardi identity, despite expanding definitions of the label. They also suggest that motivations for taking at-home DNA tests may be overwhelmingly relational in nature. Respondents with an ambiguous identity orientation tended to assign more importance to their test results, while respondents with a less ambiguous identity orientation tended to do the opposite, in keeping with the hypothesis that at-home DNA tests are only as “authoritative” or meaningful as individuals or groups want them to be.
Identifier
FIDC009588
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Campana, Caitlyn Rose, "Sephardi Identity & Legitimacy in the Age of Direct-to-Consumer DNA Tests" (2021). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4662.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/4662
Included in
Bioethics and Medical Ethics Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Jewish Studies Commons, Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons, Sociology of Religion Commons
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