I am a Jewish historian specializing in early modern Europe, but who teaches broader courses on the Jewish experience. These include RELG 219 Introduction to Jewish History, RELG 217 Israel the Holy Land, and RELG 332 Jews in the Middle Ages, as well as RELG 209 Judaism and Christianity in Conflict and Coexistence. Many of my courses are cross-listed with the History Department and the Judaic Studies Program.
My primary research focus has been Christian Hebraism, the study of Hebrew by biblical scholars, theologians, and Latin schoolteachers who sought new information and ideas to meet Christian cultural and religious needs during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. I have written two books on this subject: Christian Hebraism in the Reformation Era (1500-1660): Authors, Books, and the Transmission of Jewish Learning (2012) and From Christian Hebraism to Jewish Studies: Johannes Buxtorf (1564-1629) and Hebrew Learning in the Seventeenth-Century (1996). My most recent book project is a study of Martin Luther’s attitude toward Jews as reflected in his three anti-Jewish polemical works of 1543. In 2015 I was honored with an Alexander von Humboldt Research Award.
Vita
