Norman Stillman
Encyclopedia
Norman Arthur Stillman, also Noam (נועם, in Hebrew), b. 1945, is the Schusterman-Josey Professor and Chair
of Judaic History at the University of Oklahoma
. He specializes in the intersection of Jewish and Islam
ic culture and history, and in Oriental
and Sephardi Jewry, with special interest in the Jewish communities in North Africa
. His major publications are The Jews of Arab Lands: a History And Source Book and Sephardi Religious Responses to Modernity. In the last few years, Stillman has been the executive editor of the Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, a project that includes over 2000 entries in 5 volumes. It will be published by Brill
in 2010.
, receiving the B.A.
(magna cum laude) in 1967 and Ph.D.
in Oriental Studies
in 1970, Shelomo Dov Goitein
being his thesis advisor. He was a post-doctoral fellow
at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
. He has received numerous academic honors, among them the Phi Beta Kappa, the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching and the SUNY-Binghamton award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. He delivered the Momigliano Lectures for the University of Chicago
's Committee on Social Thought and the Sherman Lectures for the School of Oriental and African Studies
at the University of London
. He was Lady Davis Fellow at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1994-1995 and visiting fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
at Tel-Aviv University. He received the Ohio State University
Melton Center's Distinguished Humanist award in 2000 and was a visiting scholar at l'Institut National des Langues et Civilisation Orientales in Paris
in 2001-2002. Stillman also appears in the 2005 film, The Hebrew Project.
Stillman was married to the late Yedida Kalfon Stillman, Professor of Near East
ern History and Languages, also at the University of Oklahoma, with whom he worked closely.
, magic
, and medieval
pharmacology
, which have been published in "The Language and Culture of the Jews of Sefrou", as well as in the Journal of the American Oriental Society, the Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, and the Dictionary of the Middle Ages. He was editor of the journal of the Association for Jewish Studies from 1989-1999. Stillman teaches courses in Medieval Jewish History, Jewish Historiography
, and the History of Judaism
. In 2005, he held the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Committee annual public lecture of the Center for Arts and Humanities, University of Missouri
.
Chair
A chair is a stable, raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs are most often supported by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three legs or could have a different shape depending on the criteria of the chair specifications. A chair without a back or...
of Judaic History at the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
. He specializes in the intersection of Jewish and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic culture and history, and in Oriental
Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahiyim, , also referred to as Adot HaMizrach are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus...
and Sephardi Jewry, with special interest in the Jewish communities in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
. His major publications are The Jews of Arab Lands: a History And Source Book and Sephardi Religious Responses to Modernity. In the last few years, Stillman has been the executive editor of the Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, a project that includes over 2000 entries in 5 volumes. It will be published by Brill
Brill Publishers
Brill is an international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, the Netherlands. With offices in Leiden and Boston, Brill today publishes more than 134 journals and around 600 new books and reference works each year...
in 2010.
Biography
Stillman studied at the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, receiving the B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(magna cum laude) in 1967 and Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in Oriental Studies
Orientalism
Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
in 1970, Shelomo Dov Goitein
Shelomo Dov Goitein
Shelomo Dov Goitein was a German-Jewish ethnographer, historian and Arabist known for his research on Jewish life in the Islamic Middle Ages.-Biography:...
being his thesis advisor. He was a post-doctoral fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
. He has received numerous academic honors, among them the Phi Beta Kappa, the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching and the SUNY-Binghamton award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. He delivered the Momigliano Lectures for the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
's Committee on Social Thought and the Sherman Lectures for the School of Oriental and African Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. He was Lady Davis Fellow at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1994-1995 and visiting fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies is an interdisciplinary research center based in Israel and devoted to the study of the modern history and contemporary affairs of Africa and the Middle East....
at Tel-Aviv University. He received the Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
Melton Center's Distinguished Humanist award in 2000 and was a visiting scholar at l'Institut National des Langues et Civilisation Orientales in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 2001-2002. Stillman also appears in the 2005 film, The Hebrew Project.
Stillman was married to the late Yedida Kalfon Stillman, Professor of Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
ern History and Languages, also at the University of Oklahoma, with whom he worked closely.
Research and activities
Stillman's current research projects are the Jewish Society and Community in North Africa in the Modern Period and Jewish and Islamic Languages as cultural phenomena. His research has included work on modern folk medicineFolk medicine
-Description:Refers to healing practices and ideas of body physiology and health preservation known to a limited segment of the population in a culture, transmitted informally as general knowledge, and practiced or applied by anyone in the culture having prior experience.All cultures and societies...
, magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
, and medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
pharmacology
Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...
, which have been published in "The Language and Culture of the Jews of Sefrou", as well as in the Journal of the American Oriental Society, the Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, and the Dictionary of the Middle Ages. He was editor of the journal of the Association for Jewish Studies from 1989-1999. Stillman teaches courses in Medieval Jewish History, Jewish Historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
, and the History of Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. In 2005, he held the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Committee annual public lecture of the Center for Arts and Humanities, University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
.
Publications
- The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book(1979)
- The Jews of Arab Lands in Modern Times (1991)
- The Language and Culture of the Jews of Sefrou: An Ethnolinguistic Study (1988)
- Sephardi Religious Responses to Modernity (1995)
- Samuel Romanell's Travail in an Arab Land (1989, in collaboration with Yedida Kalfon Stillman)
- From Iberia to Diaspora: Studies in Sephardic History and Culture (1998)
- Sephardi Religious Responses to Modernity (1995)
- Meḥḳere 'edot u-Genizah (1981)
- Studies in Judaism and Islam presented to Shelomo Dov Goitein on the occasion of his eightieth birthday by his students, colleagues, and friends (1981)
- Arab Dress: A Short History: From the Dawn of Islam to Modern Times by Yedida Kalfon Stillman and edited by Norman A. Stillman (2000)
External links
- Stillman's entry with the University of Oklahoma, Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies
- Stillman's entry with the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies
- Stillman's entry with B'nai B'rithB'nai B'rithB'nai B'rith International |Covenant]]" is the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in New York City, on , 1843, by Henry Jones and 11 others....
International - Dialogue addresses Jewish, Muslim history: N. Stillman speaks about Jewish-Muslim relations by Chris Lang, The Daily TargumThe Daily TargumThe Daily Targum is the official student newspaper of Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey. Founded in 1869, it is the second-oldest collegiate newspaper in the United States. The Daily Targum is student written and managed, and boasts a circulation of 18,000...
, Rutgers UniversityRutgers UniversityRutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, December 3, 2002