Elizabeth Shanks Alexander, Ph.D. (Yale University) Assistant Professor, Rabbinic Judaism and Talmudic Literature Office: 101 Halsey Annex 434-924-6648 email: esa3p@virginia.edu UVa instructor ID # 9978  Judaism in the ancient world; literary approaches to rabbinic literature; talmudic and midrashic hermeneutics; orality in rabbinic culture; modern theological contexts for rabbinic literature; the role of law, legal reasoning and legal argumentation in Judaism; women and gender in rabbinic literature. Education: Ph.D. (Judaic Studies); Yale University, December 1998 Dissertation: Study Practices that Made the Mishnah: The Evolution of a Tradition of Exegesis Advisor: Steven D. Fraade M.Phil. (Judaic Studies); Yale University, 1993 Comprehensive Exams: Rabbinic Literature (Steven Fraade), Literary Theory (Geoffrey Hartman), Jewish Law (Bernard Jackson) and Modern Jewish Thought (Paula Hyman), passed with Honors M.A. (Judaic Studies); Yale University, 1991 B.A. (Religion); Haverford College, 1989 Courses: Fall 2005 RELJ 203 Introduction to Judaic Tradition RELJ 505 Judaism in Antiquity Spring 2005 Leave Fall 2004 Leave Spring 2004 RELJ 331 Law in Judaism RELJ 383 Introduction to Talmud Fall 2003 RELJ 203 Introduction to the Judaic Tradition (co-taught with V. Ochs) RELJ 510 Ethics and Theology of the Rabbis Spring 2003 Leave Fall 2002 RELJ 256 Classical Sources in the Jewish Tradition RELJ 505 Judaism in Antiquity Spring 2002 RELJ 383 Introduction to Talmud RELG 537 Orality, Tradition and Religion Fall 2001 RELJ 203 Introduction to the Judaic Tradition (co-taught with V. Ochs) RELJ 343 Women in Classical Jewish Sources RELS 895 Directed Research in Targum Spring 2001 RELJ 331 Law in Judaism RELJ 522 Literary Approaches to Rabbinic Literature Fall 2000 RELJ 256 Classical Sources in the Jewish Tradition RELJ 505 Judaism in Antiquity Publications, Awards, and Activities Monographs: Mishnah and the Shaping Influence of Oral Tradition, Cambridge University Press, forthcoming. Between Man and Woman: The Development of Gender in Rabbinic Law, manuscript in progress Articles: “The Orality of Rabbinic Writing,” Cambridge Companion to Rabbinic Literature, eds. Martin S. Jaffee and Charlotte Fonrobert, Cambridge University Press, forthcoming “Casuistic Elements in Mishnaic Law: Examples from Tractate Shavuot,” Jewish Studies Quarterly 10:3 (2003), 189-243. “Art, Argument and Ambiguity in the Talmud: Conflicting Conceptions of the Evil Impulse in b. Sukkah 51b-52a,” Hebrew Union College Annual 73:97-132. "The Impact of Feminism on Rabbinic Studies: The Impossible Paradox of Reading Women into Rabbinic Literature," Jews and Gender: The Challenge to Hierarchy, ed. Jonathan Frankel Studies, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000, 101-118. "The Fixing of the Oral Mishnah and the Displacement of Meaning," Oral Tradition 14:1 (March 1999), 100-139. "Cracking Open the Fissures: Testing the Limits of Continuity," Textual Reasonings: Journal of the Postmodern Jewish Philosophy Network, Vol. 5, No. 3, November 1996, 14-16. "Dialogue on the Theme of Martyrdom: Sanctifying God with Our Lives? and Responses," The Journal of Post-Modern Jewish Philosophy Network, Vol. 5, No. 1, March 1996, 18-26. "Kol Nidre: A Formula of Liberation," Urim v'Tumin, Jewish Journal at Yale, Fall 1990. Book Reviews and Booknotes: Book Review in Nashim, forthcoming: Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism by Tamar Ross. Book Review in Shofar, forthcoming: Women, Birth and Death in Jewish Law and Practice by Rochelle Millen. Book Review in AJS Review 26:2 (Nov. 2002), 360-61: Rereading Talmud: Gender, Law and the Poetics of Sugyot by Aryeh Cohen. Booknote in Religious Studies Review, 27:4 (Oct. 2001), 424: Menstrual Purity: Rabbinic and Christian Constructions of Biblical Gender by Charlotte Fonrobert. Booknote in Religious Studies Review, 26:4 (Oct. 2000), 394-5: Kol Nidre: Studies in the Development of Rabbinic Votive Institutions by Moshe Benovitz. Honors: 2004-2005 Yad Hanadiv/Beracha Foundation Fellowship Summer 2003 University of Virginia, Summer Faculty Research Grant Summer 2002 University of Virginia, Summer Faculty Research Grant Summer 2001 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Research Stipend Summer 2000 University of Virginia, Summer Faculty Research Grant 1995-1996 National Foundation for Jewish Culture Dissertation Fellowship, Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture Doctoral Scholarship, Yale University Dissertation Fellowship 1990-1994 Yale University Fellowship 1992-1993 Harry Axelrod Fellowship 1989 Phi Beta Kappa, High Departmental Honors, Best Senior Thesis in Religion Current projects: Between Man and Woman: Conceptions of Gender in Rabbinic Law, book manuscript in progress "The Origins of the Phrase 'Timebound, Positive Commandments,'" article manuscript in progress