Monthly Archives: September 2023

Online History Course: Jewish Women in the Medieval World

November 2 – 30, 2023

What was life like as a Jewish woman 1000 years ago (give or take)? How might she have earned money? What was her understanding of the divine? How did she experience marriage and motherhood? And how can we possibly know? Join JWA as four leading scholars offer us glimpse into the lives of medieval Jewish women from Northern Europe to Iberia to the Middle East. (Please note that all sessions in this series will take place at 12:00 PM ET/9:00 AM PT).

Sociohistorical Realism in Juive, a Conversion Miracle in the Fourteenth-Century Vie des pères

by Karen Casey Casebier, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

“Juive,” La Vie des pères, Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, MS 5204, fol. 150v (source: gallica.bnf.fr/ BnF). The Virgin Mary appears to a Jewish woman during childbirth.

Although my background is in Old French literature, and the devotional works, miracle tales and saints’ lives that I study rarely concern themselves with issues pertinent to medieval Jewish studies, I was naturally intrigued to find a conversion miracle in which a Jewish woman becomes a Christian saint. More importantly, I began to consider how this miracle of the Virgin Mary might shed light on the relationship of Jews and Christians in medieval society, since they often shared the same communities and cultures, even if they did not share the same religious values.

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AAJR Dissertation Research Funding

AAJR provides stipends for up to $4,000 for dissertation research grants. The funds are not intended for language study or equipment.  Funding is available to Ph.D. graduate students, and those up to four years following their graduation, in any field of Jewish studies at a North American university.  Applicants must have submitted their Ph.D. Dissertation prospectus and have a demonstrated need for materials from archival, library, or manuscript collections or for ethnographic research.

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Postdoctoral Fellowships in Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven

The Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at the KU Leuven, Belgium, is inviting expressions of interest from suitably qualified candidates who wish to apply during the 2023/24 academic year for a postdoctoral fellowship from the Flemish Research Council with the KU Leuven as Host Institution.

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Assistant Professor, Jews in the Muslim World, University of California – Irvine

The School of Humanities at the University of California, Irvine, invites applications for a position in the study of “Jews in the Muslim World” (any time period, medieval to modern), in any discipline in the humanities, including history, literary studies, or visual studies. The appointment will be at the rank of Assistant Professor (tenure-track) in a department within the School of Humanities. The successful candidate will contribute to the undergraduate and graduate curriculum of their home department as well as to the development of the Jewish Studies Program/Center for Jewish Studies at UCI. For more information on the UCI School of Humanities and its academic departments, visit https://www.humanities.uci.edu/.

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Dr. Saul Philip Wachs Chair of Jewish Life and Learning  

Gratz College invites applications for the Dr. Saul Philip Wachs Chair of Jewish Life and Learning. The full-time appointment is a joint administrative and non-tenured faculty (open rank) position and will commence on June 1, 2024, or shortly thereafter. The successful candidate must hold a Ph.D. in Jewish Studies, Jewish Education, or a closely related field, and have a demonstrated exceptional record in research and pedagogy within the Jewish textual tradition. Candidates will have an established reputation, administrative leadership experience and possess a strong network of relationships with the constellation of agencies within the area of Jewish Studies and Jewish Education. 

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