UMass Amherst
Judaic and Near Eastern Studies
 

Faculty

     Students are attracted by the high caliber of the faculty, greatly respected men and women who are known for their prolific contributions to the field. One of the Department’s great strengths, this distinguished body of active scholars, writers, and researchers stimulates and inspires undergraduate and graduate students alike.

     James Young, current chair of the Department, is a renowned literary and cultural historian of the Holocaust and the only Jewish and American member of Germany’s National Holocaust Memorial Committee.

James Young, Professor and Chair of Department, B.A., California at Santa Cruz, 1973; M.A., California at Berkeley, 1976; Ph.D., California at Santa Cruz, 1983.

Aviva Ben-Ur, Associate Professor, B.A., Wellesley, 1990; M.A., Columbia, 1992; M.Phil., 1994; Ph.D., Brandeis, 1998.

Jay Berkovitz, Professor, B.A., Brandeis, 1973; M.A., 1977; Ph.D., 1983.

Shmuel Bolozky, Professor, B.A., Hebrew University, 1965; M.A., London, 1968; Ph.D., Illinois, 1972.

Tayeb El-Hibri, Associate Professor, B.A., Stanford, 1986; M.A., Columbia, 1988; M.Phil., 1989; Ph.D., 1993.

Olga Gershenson, Assistant Professor, BA., Ural State University, 1990; M.A., Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1998; Ph.D., University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 2003.

Robert A. Rothstein, Professor, S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1960; A.M., Harvard, 1961; Ph.D., 1967.

Noemi Schwarz, Senior Lecturer II.

Susan Shapiro, Associate Professor, B.A., Washington University, 1973; Ph.D., Chicago, 1983.

Adjunct Faculty

Walter Denny, Professor, History of Islamic Art and Architecture. Program in Art History

Laszlo Dienes, Professor, Russian-Jewish Literature and Culture. Program in Comparative Literature

Andrew Donson,  Assistant Professor, Holocaust Studies. Program in German and Scandinavian Studies

Harley ErdmanAssistant Professor, Jewish Theater. Department of  Theater

Richard S. Ellis, Professor, Torah, Commentaries, and Biblical Interpretation. Department of Math & Statistics
http://www.math.umass.edu/~rsellis

Ethan Katsh, Professor, Law and Religion. Department of Legal Studies

David MednicoffAssistant Professor, Middle East Law and Politics. Department of Legal Studies

Jonathan Skolnik,  Assistant Professor, German Jewish Studies. Program in German and Scandinavian Studies

Robert Sullivan, Assistant Professor, Crusades and Islam. Program in German and Scandinavian Studies

Mary C. Wilson, Professor, History of the Middle East. Department of History

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