All posts by Maya Soifer Irish

About Maya Soifer Irish

Dr. Maya Soifer Irish an Associate Professor of History at Rice University, whose research focuses on religious violence and toleration, and explores the legal, social, and economic situation of religious minorities in Iberian Christian societies. She is the author of many articles, including “Beyond convivencia: Critical Reflections on the Historiography of Interfaith Relations in Christian Spain.” Her first book, Jews and Christians in Medieval Castile: Tradition, Coexistence, and Change, explores the changes in Jewish-Christian relations in the kingdom of Castile between the 11th and 14th centuries. She is currently working on a new book, The Politics of Persecution in Medieval Spain: Toward the Anti-Jewish Riots of 1391. Between 2018 and 2021 she served as President of the American Academy of Research Historians of Medieval Spain (AARHMS).

Jordan Schnizler Book Awards (AJS)

These awards, offered by the Association for Jewish Studies, have annually recognized and promoted outstanding scholarship in the field of Jewish Studies and honored scholars whose work embodies the best in the field: rigorous research, theoretical sophistication, innovative methodology, and excellent writing. The AJS annually awards one winner and one finalist in each of four categories.

Medieval and Early Modern Jewish History and Culture is one of the submission categories. The other categories are Jewish Literature and Linguistics, Modern Jewish History and Culture: Africa, Americas, Asia, and Oceania, and Philosophy and Jewish Thought.

Deadline: Tuesday, July 1, 2025.

New book — The Hermeneutical Jew: Essays on Inter-Religious Encounters in Honour of Jeremy Cohen

Edited by Ram Ben-Shalom and Yosi Yisraeli

Brepols, 2025

This collection of new studies by leading medievalists serves as a fitting tribute to Jeremy Cohen’s groundbreaking scholarship, offering readers an illuminating journey through medieval and early modern European religious identity and the interconnected histories of Judaism and Christianity.

CFA: Samuel W. and Goldye Marian Spain Postdoctoral Associate in Jewish Studies, Rice University (Houston)

The Program in Jewish Studies at Rice University in Houston, Texas, invites applications for the Samuel W. and Goldye Marian Spain Postdoctoral Associate. The appointment will be for the academic year 2025–26 (July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026), with renewal possible for a second year. Scholars from all fields of Jewish Studies will be considered, but we are especially interested in candidates whose scholarship relates to the study of antisemitism or to Israel studies.

Deadline: March 16, 2025