The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies

The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies is a comprehensive reference guide, providing an overview of Jewish Studies as it has developed as an academic sub-discipline. This volume surveys the development and current state of research in the broad field of Jewish Studies - focusing on central themes, methodologies, and varieties of source materials available. It includes 11 core essays from internationally-renowned scholars and teachers that provide an important and useful overview of Jewish history and the development of Judaism, while exploring central issues in Jewish Studies that cut across historical periods and offer important opportunities to track significant themes throughout the diversity of Jewish experiences. In addition to a bibliography to help orient students and researchers, the volume includes a series of indispensable research tools, including a chronology, maps, and a glossary of key terms and concepts. This is the essential reference guide for anyone working in or exploring the rich and dynamic field of Jewish Studies.

"The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the field of Jewish Studies, or who is already working in the field. An essential reference, this book deserves a place in any academic library with a Jewish Studies section. Throughout the text is eminently readable and extremely informative and it is ideal for both students and scholars, as well as for non-academicians." - The Jewish Eye

“This fine volume offers a general survey of the field of Jewish studies in its present state. After a general introduction, the editor provides a set of chapters, each with its own outline, that examine current scholarship in the traditional periods of Jewish history (biblical, rabbinic, medieval, early modern, and modern). In a second section, contributors look at the field from the vantage point of the new disciplinary developments, including gender studies and material culture. The last chapter examines Israel studies as a field in it own right. The chapters, each written by a specialist, are clear, thorough, and bibliographically rich. Here and there one might quibble with the interpretation of some point, but the book overall is reliable and accessible. A final section ("Resources") provides maps, a time line, a glossary, lists of recommended readings for each chapter, and an index. This section makes the book usable even for those who might find the chapters themselves a bit too rich to digest. This is a valuable book for any library that serves readers interested in the field of Jewish studies or any of its subfields” —R. Goldenberg, emeritus, SUNY at Stony Brook, CHOICE