rabbinics / late ancient judaism PhD programs?

[ummbop95]

Anyone applying for programs in rabbinic literature/Judaism in late antiquity programs? Could be nice to hash out some of the field-specific details (different programs, reqs etc)... already lots of info for people who do bible/theology on here so thought I'll start a thread for us. 

 

After talking to a bunch of people, programs I'm definitely interested in are Yale, Princeton, and Columbia, but I want to add more since I know it's hard to get into these places. My undergrad actually has a nice program also but the fact I've already went there rules it out for me. I want to do some traditional Talmudic text work but also look into broader context and maybe engage in literary theory. I was told by a couple of people that Berkeley isn't really taking students... though I don't know officially (and the west coast might be challenging for me for personal reasons). 

 

My Hebrew is native level and I think I have decent Talmudic skills... but I don't know exactly what's the required level for entrance in these programs? It's not like there's a subject GRE for Kiddushin... Some people seem to come with a lot of Yeshiva background (including rabbinic ordination), while some don't.  Also what other languages are required normally? I have some Greek but I wouldn't say it's on the level of, say, classics graduate school. 

 

Anyway, was wondering if anyone on this board is interested in these or other related questions... I know in a way we compete but I think the more info we have the better!  

[ummbop95]

Oops, didn't mean to open two threads! The dangers of double click... Let's talk on this one. 

[sacklunch]

PM'd you.

[marXian]

I'm not in your field, but Barry Wimpfheimer at Northwestern might be someone to look into. He works on the Babylonian Talmud, legal narrative, etc. He's also a faculty affiliate with the Critical Theory Cluster at NU (http://www.wcas.northwestern.edu/criticaltheory/) which, if you're interested in literary theory, would be something you could be involved in. Critical/literary theory is very strong at NU.

[Joseph45]

It's amazing how quiet this forum gets when somebody asks about something other than where to study N.T. or theology. If only you were pondering where an evangelical should go to study theology or Bible, then you could get more advice than you'd need (even if most of it would be horrible advice).

 

There's not a lot of jobs or strong PhD programs in your area (not a bad thing, few people applying for them), and the first ones I'd recommend are the ones you already listed. I'd also consider Northwestern, mainly because of Mira Balberg, whose written a great first book. Of course, Stanford would be great too if you can make it out to the left coast (Charlotte Fonrobert is there). I'd also take a peak at Virginia, to see if you'd like to work with Elizabeth Alexander. Maryland wouldn't be bad to check out either (Hayim Lapin), although I don't know what program you'd want to apply to in order to get a PhD under him. If you're not limiting yourself to the rabbis only, Penn would be a great place to go (Annette Reed is fantastic).

 

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few people, but there are my two cents.

Edited November 4, 2014 by Joseph45

[sacklunch]

^ indeed! The conversations here are a good measure of what the overall applicant pool looks like in RS/Theology. Then again, most here are applying for an MDiv/MTS/MAR degree, and happen to be predominately Christian. Either way, these sort of univocal interests occur in Jewish and Muslim majority environments, too (e.g. students interested in studying at JTS will generally not be interested in solely studying early Christianity or even alongside late antique Judaism). 

 

I agree with all of the above considerations. I would emphasize Yale (Fraade and Hayes are fantastic) and (as you did) Penn. While the latter does have Reed (an excellent scholar whom I applied to work with during my own application cycle), she doesn't work exclusively in rabbinics (as she is more interested in so-called Jewish-Christianity as of late--as am I). Penn also just acquired Steven Weitzman (Katz Center), who was before at Standford with Fonrobert (and before he was at Indiana). Also significant is for your field: Duke not long ago hired Marc Brettler (Brandeis), who will start next fall (to replace Eric Meyers). Chicago, of course, has Fishbane, though I'm not sure how much longer he will be there/taking students (anyone?). If you can suffer through the Catholic scholarly environment, Notre Dame has Tzvi Novick. 

[Joseph45]

"these sort of univocal interests occur in Jewish and Muslim majority environments, too" -- I guess that's what fascinates me so much. This isn't a Christian space, but a forum for applying to graduate school. It does, however, reflect the field's (unfortunate) Christian moorings.

[sacklunch]

True enough. Some may argue that this is a 'Christian space' in so far as almost all of the forum's traffic is American/Canadian applicants. We are in one of the stranger fields in that many graduate students--I think even for the most part PhD students--identify 'religiously' (a fraught term, to be sure), to varying degrees, with the particular subfield they study. This has the unfortunate consequence of almost everyone I/we encounter (as PhD students) earnestly asking: Why would you study Judaism/Christianity/Islam and not be a part of that particular tradition? No one asks the scholar/student of Sasanian Persia why s(he) is not a Zoroastrian. Apparently only certain things are interesting in and of themselves. And still more surprising is that many feel their own traditions are off limits to study--at the very least to study properly--unless you are an insider. But, as they said, the times are a changin'.