News

 The Center for Jewish Studies at Duke University invites applications for the Perilman Post-Doctoral Fellowship in any field of Jewish Studies for the 2014-2015 academic year, with the possibility of renewal for the following year. The Fellowship provides a stipend of $39,264 (US) per year, as well as benefits, for one full year.  The Fellow will be expected to present a public lecture on his or her research in the Fall of 2014, to teach one undergraduate course in Spring 2015, and participate in the intellectual… read more about Duke CJS Announces: Perilman Post-Doctoral Fellowship »

Bob Dylan connects religion and pop culture Amanda Brumwell / The ChronicleFaculty jam out to a repertoire of Bob Dylan songs at Goodson Chapel Thursday. By Zaynah Alam | October 4, 2013     Students, faculty and community members were knocking on heaven's door in Goodson Chapel Thursday evening. Gotta Serve Somebody—an event organized by Shalom Goldman, professor of religion and Middle Eastern studies, to celebrate the achievements of iconic singer-songwriter Bob Dylan—featured… read more about Gotta Serve Somebody: Bob Dylan in American Religion and Culture »

Processing the materials in the Abraham Joshua Heschel papers over the past three months has presented interesting challenges, including deciphering a wide assortment of languages represented in the collection (we’re up to nine languages thus far) and determining date ranges for the materials. As a result, we’ve come up with some creative, yet practical solutions to address these challenges and are hopeful they will positively affect how researchers interact with and interpret the materials in the collection.Language… read more about Heschel Highlights, Part 2 »

Three of the Rabbi Nathan J. Perilman fellows from the Center for Jewish Studies have been awarded European Studies Research Scholarships for the academic year 2013-2014. Giuseppe Prigiotti (Romance Studies), Rachel Bessner (History), and Annegret Oehme (German), will be participating in a working group on Jews & Muslims: Histories, Diasporas and the Meaning of the ‘European.’  The scholarships are awarded by the Center for European Studies.The scholarship supports graduate and professional students, as well as… read more about Perilman Fellows Win Research Scholarships »

Internalizing Israeli Violence by Shai Ginsburg on Aug 14, 2013 • 11: 14 UTC No CommentsAs in 2012, the biggest winners of this year’s Jerusalem Film Festival were debuts by two young and promising directors. Tom Shoval’s Youth received The Haggiag Awards for Israeli Cinema for Full Length Film, and Maya Dreifuss’ She Is Coming Home received the Pirchi Family Award for Best Debut. This is both good and bad. Good, because the two films serve as further testimony to the ongoing robustness of the small Israeli… read more about Internalizing Israeli Violence »

This article originally appeared on Patheos at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/religionnow/2013/07/god-speed-race-cars-for-peace-in-the-holy-city/By Shalom Goldman, Duke UniversityIn the US, spectator sports and religious conviction often go hand in hand. Americans are used to players, and teams, who pray and play, invoking Jesus before, during, and after games. This happens on the basketball court, in baseball stadiums, and on football fields. And it… read more about God Speed: “Race Cars for Peace” in the Holy City »

Learn more about our exciting first-year seminar (89S) on Jewish-American Literature, taught by literature scholar Judith Ruderman.  The course begins in NYC in the late 19th-century, and through fiction and film explores the immigrant experience.  The course then looks at both the suburban experience, and explores attitudes and issues concerning the state of Israel; and finally ends with authors writing about college students - both contemporary, as well as those who were silenced during the Argentinian Dirty War… read more about Jewish-American Literature - Learn More This Fall! »

Laura Lieber, Assistant Director of the Duke Center for Jewish Studies and Associate Professor of Religion, will be presenting her paper "Balak on the Liturgical Stage" this weekend at the Columbia University Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies at a conference titled "The Past - and Present - of Jewish Storytelling."  The event promises a dynamic discussion of narrative, ancient and modern storytelling, in the Jewish tradition; bringing together writers and academics.     Other speakers and scholars… read more about Laura Lieber to present at IIJS »

The next meeting of the Jewish Studies Seminar is Sunday, April 7, 2013. Our guest speaker is Gail Sherman, Professor of English and Humanities, Reed College. She will lead a discussion on “Paradox, Not Orthodox, Jews: The Jewish-American Fiction of Joanne Greenberg.” paper available   JSS – Sherman read more about Next seminar April 7 with Prof. Gail Sherman »

By Shalom Goldman,While the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics eagerly awaited the decision of the Cardinals who were sequestered in the Sistine Chapel, members of the world’s other religions, among them many of the world’s 14 million Jews, were also closely following developments in Rome. But as is often the case, there was no Jewish consensus on this issue, or on any other. As the well-known maxim has it,  “one Jew, three opinions.”Behind the differences between Catholic and Jewish approaches to consensus is some… read more about Why Jews Don't Elect a Pope, and What Might Happen if They Did »

In this panel discussion at Indiana University's School of Music, Shalom Goldman joins IU's Egyptologist Steve Vinson, Associate Professor, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures and the production’s internationally recognized artistic team: Stage Director Candace Evans, Music Director Arthur Fagen, Stage Designer Douglas Fitch, and Costume Designer Linda Pisano. The discussion was an in-depth overview from the artistic team of IU Opera Theater’s upcoming presentation of Philip Glass’ groundbreaking… read more about Shalom Goldman discusses Phillip Glass' "Akhnaten" »

The next meeting of the Jewish Studies Seminar is Sunday, February 24, 2013. Our guest speaker is Marsha Rozenblit, Harvey M. Meyerhoff Professor of Jewish History at the University of Maryland. She will lead a discussion on “Jews and Other Germans: The Case of Moravia, 1848-1938.” paper available  JSS – Rozenblit read more about Next seminar Feb. 24 with Prof. Marsha Rozenblit »

The next meeting of the Jewish Studies Seminar is January 27. Our guest will be Dr. Zohar Maor of the Department of History, Bar-Ilan University. He will lead a discussion on “Max Brod: Identity and Hybridity.” paper available       JSS – max brod final read more about Next seminar January 27 with Dr. Zohar Maor »

Since its nineteenth century beginnings, archaeology in the Holy Land has been driven by the desire to illuminate, even to verify, Jewish and Christian scripture. At the same time, western expeditions and excavations served to further colonial interests in the exotic Orient. Both of these motivations—the religious and the political—persist although their specific manifestations have shifted over the course of more than a century of research. This course is designed to introduce the student to some of the major… read more about 2013 Holy Land Archaeology Blog »