The Program in Jewish Studies is excited to welcome visiting professor, Moshe Kornfeld, PhD. This Spring 2015, Professor Kornfeld is teaching Topics in Judaism: Post-Holocaust American Judaism (JWST/RLST 4260/5260 /ANTH 4050).
Originally from Haifa and Rochester, NY, Professor Kornfeld conducted his dissertation fieldwork in New Orleans. His dissertation, The Chosen Universalists, considered the politics and practices of American Jewish philanthropy and activism with a particular focus on intra-Jewish collaboration, debate, and protest in post-Katrina New Orleans. The project suggested that we view philanthropy as a crucial discursive field within which American Jewish identity and community are constructed and contested. Professor Kornfeld received his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Michigan in January, 2015. Professor Kornfeld notes that his research within Jewish Studies is deeply interdisciplinary, drawing richness and depth from his background in anthropology. He states, "I apply anthropological theories and methods to achieve new interpretations of contemporary Jewish life and culture."
This semester, Professor Kornfeld is teaching Topics in Judaism: Post-Holocaust American Judaism, a course that examines Jewish life in the postwar era with a particular focus on Jewish counterculture movements. He is particularly enjoying learning with his students and is excited to work with them as they develop original research projects. Teaching the course ties into Professor Kornfeld's research interests in the Post-Holocaust American Judaism Archive housed at CU-Boulder.
This spring in addition to various publishing projects, Professor Kornfeld will be starting a blog focused on the academic study of contemporary Jewish life, as well as attending a workshop for early career scholars in Jewish studies run by the American Academy for Jewish Research.
Welcome Professor Kornfeld!