Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies

Dean Phillip Bell is Dean, Chief Academic Officer, and Professor of Jewish History at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, Chicago, USA.

[The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies] boldly seeks to introduce all the major areas of the discipline and give the reader a concise, informative and up-to-date account of the wide-ranging developments in each ... [It] proves to be a wealth of information and a very useful starting point for lay-person or specialist alike ... [and] can be recommended as a first, non-overwhelming, port of call for all interested parties.

• Introduction, Dean Phillip Bell, Dean and Chief Academic Officer (Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, Chicago, USA)Part IThe Formation of Judaism and Jewish Society1 The Hebrew Bible, Leonard J. Greenspoon, Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Professor in Jewish Civilization and Professor of Classical & Near Eastern Studies and of Theology (Creighton University, USA)2 The World of the Rabbis, Gary G. Porton, Sarah and Charles Drobny Professor of Talmudic Studies and Judaism (University of Illinois, USA)New Contexts: Medieval Jews and JudaismComparative Medieval Perspectives, Elisheva Baumgarten, Senior Lecturer, Department of Jewish Studies and Gender Studies (Bar-Ilan University, Israel) and Marina Rustow, Charlotte Bloomberg Associate Professor in the Humanities (The John Hopkins University, USA)3 Jews and the Islamic World: Transitions from Rabbinic to Medieval Contexts, Marina Rustow, Charlotte Bloomberg Associate Professor in the Humanities (The John Hopkins University, USA)4 Medieval Jews and Judaism in Christian Contexts, Elisheva Baumgarten Senior Lecturer, Department of Jewish Studies and Gender Studies (Bar-Ilan University, Israel)Changing Tempos and Foci: Looking to Modernity5 Early Modern Jews and Judaism, Dean Phillip Bell, Dean and Chief Academic Officer (Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, Chicago, USA)6 Modernity, Judaism, and Jews, Gil Graff, Executive Director (BJE: Builders of Jewish Education, Los Angeles, USA)Part IIReorienting Contemporary Jewry and Jewish Studies7 Mainstreams and Margins: Rethinking Contemporary Jewry, Yehuda Kurtzer, President (Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, USA)8 Women, Gender, and Judaism, Judith R. Baskin, Philip H. Knight Professor of Humanities and Associate Dean for Humanities (College of Arts and Sciences, University of Oregon, USA)9 Jewish Arts and Material Culture, Judah M. Cohen, Lou and Sybil Mervis Professor of Jewish Culture, Indiana University (USA)10 Jewish Demography, Sergio DellaPergola, Shlomo Argov Professor Emeritus of Israel-Diaspora Relations (Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry, Hebrew University, Israel)11 The State of Israel Studies, Michael Kotzin, Senior Counselor to the President of the Chicago Federation, and Elie Rekhess, Visiting Crown Chair in Middle East Studies and Professor of History (Northwestern University, USA)Part IIIGlossaryMapsTimelineSelect BibliographyContributor BiographiesIndex