Call for Papers AJS 2019: Jewish Studies in “Global” Middle Ages

Call for Papers for Association for Jewish Studies (December 15-17, 2019 in San Diego, California) Jewish Studies in the “Global” Middle Ages In the past few years, Medieval Studies has attempted to reach wider audiences through an embracing of a “global” Middle Ages, with an emphasis on previously understudied communities. Scholars look beyond the traditional Christian white male writer to find examples of non-Christian, non-white and non-male medieval people. This involves, among other initiatives, access to medieval languages other than Latin, French, German, and English, and examining lesser-known texts for evidence of marginalized groups. As it focuses on a minority community in the Middle Ages, how does the field of Jewish Studies feature into this new, broad approach to Medieval Studies? What aspects of medieval Jewish life emerge when we examine untapped literary or historical sources? What is the place of medieval Hebrew literature among these recently-expanded generic boundaries? These papers will introduce new methodologies in Medieval Studies by bringing Jewish figures to the forefront of discussions of medieval law, history, and literature.   Please contact Caroline Gruenbaum (ceh469@nyu.edu) by April 24 with a 250-word abstract and include your professional status (graduate student, professor, independent scholar, etc.).