Demonic femininity in the ancient synagogue: Dancing with the angel of death
In ancient times, synagogue poetry enlightened listeners, but also served as magical protection against demonic forces, writes Laura Lieber.
Us vs. them: Challenging stereotypes about Judaism in the wake of Pittsburgh shooting
Christian myths about Judaism both feed anti-Semitism and misrepresent the reality of a religion based on the love of God and the other.
An English professor reflects on Pittsburgh
Works of literature speak to the forces behind anti-Semitic violence.
The United States should embrace its legacy of compassion towards immigrants and refugees, not its history of xenophobia
Americans should remember their history as immigrants and refugees, says Prof. Kathie Friedman-Kasaba, and how xenophobic restrictions have targeted many groups in the past.
What the Jews of the Iberian Peninsula can teach us about political power & minority status
Graduate Fellow Vivian Mills shows how all-too-familiar patterns of discrimination and exclusion affected Sephardic Jews in the Middle Ages.
Video: Jonathan Israel on Spinoza as a Revolutionary
Professor Jonathan Israel explores Spinoza's role as a revolutionary thinker and precursor to the modern human rights movement in the 2017 Stroum Lectures in Jewish Studies.
Spinoza & Modern Jewish Philosophy 2017 Conference
This international conference, in combination with the 2017 Stroum Lectures, explored the myriad ways in which Spinoza has contributed to the development of modern Jewish philosophy.
Spinoza, Industrialization, and the Nineteenth-Century Ethos of Repose
Tracie Matysik explains the controversy around Spinoza's unconventional ideas about God and humanity, and why they suggest we should slow down in a fast-paced world.