Jewish Studies Graduate Cluster
The Jewish Studies Graduate Cluster provides students with rigorous training in Jewish history, culture, and thought. It is comprised of faculty and students from across the humanities and social sciences, and provides opportunities for inter-disciplinary engagement, collaboration, and community building. Courses taught under the rubric of the Jewish Studies Graduate Cluster aim to deepen students’ textual, linguistic, and analytical skills, while also forging connections with broader questions and issues beyond the strict (and sometimes artificial) boundaries of “Jewish Studies.”
The Cluster equips students with the skills necessary to teach courses in a range of sub-fields in Jewish Studies, including Hebrew Bible, Rabbinics, Medieval, Early Modern, and Modern Jewish History, Hebrew and Yiddish Literature, and Jewish Philosophy. Cluster faculty also offer an array of specialized courses in various disciplines and fields.
The Cluster creates a productive intellectual environment that accommodates graduate students from any discipline across the Humanities and Social Sciences seeking to enhance their own scholarship by engaging a corresponding subfield in Jewish Studies. The cluster faculty includes, but is not limited to:
- Peter Fenves and Anna Parkinson (German)
- Sarah Cushman, Benjamin Frommer, Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern, David Shyovitz, and İpek K. Yosmaoğlu (History)
- Kenneth Seeskin, Emeritus (Philosophy)
- Barry Wimpfheimer and Shira Schwartz (Religious Studies)
- Lucille Kerr (Spanish and Portuguese)
See Jewish Studies Cluster Requirements for specific courses and procedures needed to complete this program.
Programs and Events
Cluster fellows participate in the Jewish Studies Graduate Colloquium which brings together faculty and graduate students to share work and listen to invited talks in Jewish Studies. The Colloquium facilitates a vivid exchange of ideas and critical reflections between the group members and visitors, and provides an opportunity for networking and community building within and beyond the field of Jewish Studies.
Who Should Apply?
Doctoral candidates from any field are eligible to apply to join this intellectual “home” outside their department. Past participants have come from the following programs:
- Anthropology
- German
- History
- Music
- Political Science
- Religious Studies
- Slavic Languages and Literatures
- Interdisciplinary PhD in Theatre and Drama
How to Apply
Interested candidates are encouraged to contact David Shyovitz, Cluster Director, to discuss academic and research interests and to navigate the application process.
Who to Contact
Please contact the program director, listed below, with questions about this program.
Benjamin Frommer
Associate Professor of History
b-frommer@northwestern.edu