The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies

Description

The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies is a comprehensive reference guide, providing an overview of Jewish Studies as it has developed as an academic sub-discipline. This volume surveys the development and current state of research in the broad field of Jewish Studies - focusing on central themes, methodologies, and varieties of source materials available. It includes 11 core essays from internationally-renowned scholars and teachers that provide an important and useful overview of Jewish history and the development of Judaism, while exploring central issues in Jewish Studies that cut across historical periods and offer important opportunities to track significant themes throughout the diversity of Jewish experiences. In addition to a bibliography to help orient students and researchers, the volume includes a series of indispensable research tools, including a chronology, maps, and a glossary of key terms and concepts. This is the essential reference guide for anyone working in or exploring the rich and dynamic field of 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 ... can be recommended as a first, non-overwhelming, port of call for all interested parties. * Journal of Semitic Studies * Dean Phillip Bell and the contributors deserve much credit for producing this excellent reader about the state and future of Jewish Studies. The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies serves as a useful introduction for students and scholars alike. The essays are well written, concise, and informative. In addition to tracing Jewish Studies from the biblical and rabbinical period to the present several topical essays cover more recent fields of study such as gender, demography, and Israel Studies. -- Tobias Brinkmann, Penn State University, USA The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies brings together some of the world's leading authorities on Jewish history, society, and culture to provide a rigorous, yet readable, resource for any student, whether in a traditional academic setting or in informal education. Particularly refreshing is the project's focus on the rise of Jewish Studies as a global phenomenon. The Companion's emphasis on the global reminds students that Jews in the past maintained a creative tension between the local culture of the places they lived and global Jewish connection through texts and language, and that Jewish Studies in the present appears around the world, but in each place manifests itself differently. The book is also particularly useful for its helpful maps, timelines, glossary, and bibliography. -- David Shneer, University of Colorado Boulder, USA