Yael S. Feldman
Encyclopedia
Yael S. Feldman is an Israel
i-born American scholar and academic particularly known for her work in comparative literature and feminist Hebrew literary criticism. She is the Abraham I. Katsh Professor of Hebrew Culture and Education in the Judaic Studies Department at New York University
and an Affiliated Professor of Comparative Literature
and Gender Studies
. She is also a Fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research, and a Visiting Fellow at Wolfson College
, Cambridge. Feldman has lectured and published internationally, and served as editor of both general and academic journals. Her research interests include Hebrew culture (biblical and modern); history of ideas
(particularly of Zionism
and its contexts); gender and cultural studies; and psychoanalytic criticism.
English Literature from Tel Aviv University
in 1967 and her M.A. in Medieval
Hebrew Literature from Hebrew College
in 1976. Her Ph.D. dissertation at
Columbia University
was on the Hebrew-American poet Gabriel Preil
who
was to become the subject of her first book, Modernism and Cultural Transfer:
Gabriel Preil and the Tradition of Jewish Literary Bilingualism (1986). Her
MA thesis formed the basis of her second book, in Hebrew, Polarity and Parallel: Semantic Patterns in the Medieval Hebrew Qasida (1987). After receiving her Ph.D. in 1981, she completed
postdoctoral study at Columbia's Center for Psychoanalytical Training and Research. Psychoanalytic theory
has continued to inform her literary criticism as well as her studies on gender and biblical and Zionist
narrative, beginning with her third publication, Teaching the Hebrew Bible as Literature in Translation (1989) and subsequent articles. According to Glenda Abramson, writing in The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies, by the 1980s Feldman was seen as one of the
leaders of the study of Israeli literary feminism along with Anne Golomb Hoffman
and Naomi Sokoloff. Her No Room of Their Own: Gender and Nation in Israeli Women's Fiction, published in 1999, was the first book-length treatment devoted to Israeli women writers and written from a feminist
perspective. It was a finalist in the 2000 National Jewish Book Awards and its 2003 Hebrew translation won the Abraham Friedman Award for Hebrew Literature. Her fifth book, Glory and Agony: Isaac's Sacrifice and National Narrative, was a finalist in the 2010
National Jewish Book Awards (Scholarship–Nahum M. Sarna Memorial Award). It was described by Perry Meisel
as “a dazzling synthesis of
political and religious history, particularly the history of the State of Israel
and the tradition of Biblical interpretation." and as an "essential reading for American readers" by Alicia Ostriker
. Glory and Agony has been praised in Review of Biblical Literature, where Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer wrote "This fascinating, multifaceted, and erudite book... is both very enjoyable and highly thought provoking, and I can recommend it whole-heartedly."
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i-born American scholar and academic particularly known for her work in comparative literature and feminist Hebrew literary criticism. She is the Abraham I. Katsh Professor of Hebrew Culture and Education in the Judaic Studies Department at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and an Affiliated Professor of Comparative Literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
and Gender Studies
Gender studies
Gender studies is a field of interdisciplinary study which analyses race, ethnicity, sexuality and location.Gender study has many different forms. One view exposed by the philosopher Simone de Beauvoir said: "One is not born a woman, one becomes one"...
. She is also a Fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research, and a Visiting Fellow at Wolfson College
Wolfson College
Wolfson College may refer to:*Wolfson College, Cambridge*Wolfson College, Oxford...
, Cambridge. Feldman has lectured and published internationally, and served as editor of both general and academic journals. Her research interests include Hebrew culture (biblical and modern); history of ideas
History of ideas
The history of ideas is a field of research in history that deals with the expression, preservation, and change of human ideas over time. The history of ideas is a sister-discipline to, or a particular approach within, intellectual history...
(particularly of Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
and its contexts); gender and cultural studies; and psychoanalytic criticism.
Biography
Feldman received her B.A. in Hebrew Literature and Language andEnglish Literature from Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
in 1967 and her M.A. in Medieval
Hebrew Literature from Hebrew College
Hebrew College
Hebrew College is an accredited college of Jewish studies in Newton Centre, near Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1921, Hebrew College is committed to Jewish scholarship in a transdenominational academic environment. The president of the college is Rabbi Daniel Lehmann...
in 1976. Her Ph.D. dissertation at
Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
was on the Hebrew-American poet Gabriel Preil
Gabriel Preil
Gabriel Preil was a modern Hebrew poet active in the United States, who wrote in Hebrew and Yiddish. He was the last of the Haskala poets. The critic Yael Feldman has done significant work on Preil, focusing on the Yiddish influences in his Hebrew poetry...
who
was to become the subject of her first book, Modernism and Cultural Transfer:
Gabriel Preil and the Tradition of Jewish Literary Bilingualism (1986). Her
MA thesis formed the basis of her second book, in Hebrew, Polarity and Parallel: Semantic Patterns in the Medieval Hebrew Qasida (1987). After receiving her Ph.D. in 1981, she completed
postdoctoral study at Columbia's Center for Psychoanalytical Training and Research. Psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory refers to the definition and dynamics of personality development which underlie and guide psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy. First laid out by Sigmund Freud, psychoanalytic theory has undergone many refinements since his work...
has continued to inform her literary criticism as well as her studies on gender and biblical and Zionist
narrative, beginning with her third publication, Teaching the Hebrew Bible as Literature in Translation (1989) and subsequent articles. According to Glenda Abramson, writing in The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies, by the 1980s Feldman was seen as one of the
leaders of the study of Israeli literary feminism along with Anne Golomb Hoffman
and Naomi Sokoloff. Her No Room of Their Own: Gender and Nation in Israeli Women's Fiction, published in 1999, was the first book-length treatment devoted to Israeli women writers and written from a feminist
perspective. It was a finalist in the 2000 National Jewish Book Awards and its 2003 Hebrew translation won the Abraham Friedman Award for Hebrew Literature. Her fifth book, Glory and Agony: Isaac's Sacrifice and National Narrative, was a finalist in the 2010
National Jewish Book Awards (Scholarship–Nahum M. Sarna Memorial Award). It was described by Perry Meisel
Perry Meisel
Perry Meisel is Professor of English at New York University. He has written extensively on British and American modernism, theory, psychoanalysis, rock, jazz, and popular culture...
as “a dazzling synthesis of
political and religious history, particularly the history of the State of Israel
and the tradition of Biblical interpretation." and as an "essential reading for American readers" by Alicia Ostriker
Alicia Ostriker
Alicia Suskin Ostriker is an American poet and scholar who writes Jewish feminist poetry.Alicia is married to the noted astronomer Jeremiah Ostriker who taught at Princeton University...
. Glory and Agony has been praised in Review of Biblical Literature, where Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer wrote "This fascinating, multifaceted, and erudite book... is both very enjoyable and highly thought provoking, and I can recommend it whole-heartedly."
Grants and Awards
Feldman’s award-winning scholarship—twice a Finalist in the National Jewish Book Awards and the winner of the Abraham Friedman Award for Hebrew Literature-was supported by various grants and fellowships, including the National Endowment for the Humanities, Fulbright-Hays, Littauer Foundation, Centers for Advanced Jewish Studies at Oxford and PENN Universities, Lady Davis Fellowship at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Yad Vashem International Holocaust Research Center.Editorial and Other Professional Activities
Feldman served for 17 years (1985–2002) as the Culture and Art Editor of Ha-do'ar, an American Hebrew Journal of long standing (1921–2005). She has also served on the editorial boards of the academic journals Prooftexts, Hebrew Studies, Contemporary Women's Writings, and Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal. In 1992 she founded the Discussion Group for Modern Hebrew Literature at the Modern Languages Association of America and served as its first Chair.Articles
The following is a selection of the more than 60 refereed journal articles and book chapters authored by Yael Feldman.- “The Romantic Hebraism of Gabriel PreilGabriel PreilGabriel Preil was a modern Hebrew poet active in the United States, who wrote in Hebrew and Yiddish. He was the last of the Haskala poets. The critic Yael Feldman has done significant work on Preil, focusing on the Yiddish influences in his Hebrew poetry...
.” Prooftexts: a Journal of Jewish Literary History. Vol. 2, No. 2, May 1982, pp. 147–162. - "The Latent and the Manifest: Freudianism in A Guest for the Night". Prooftexts: a Journal of Jewish Literary History (Indiana University Press), Vol. 7, No. 1, Special Issue on S. Y. AgnonShmuel Yosef AgnonShmuel Yosef Agnon , was a Nobel Prize laureate writer and was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew fiction. In Hebrew, he is known by the acronym Shai Agnon . In English, his works are published under the name S. Y. Agnon.Agnon was born in Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire...
, January 1987, pp. 29–39 - "Zionism: Neurosis or Cure? The "Historical" Drama of Yehoshua SobolYehoshua SobolJoshua Sobol, also known as Yehoshua Sobol , is an Israeli playwright, writer, and director at theatres in Israel and abroad.He is married to Edna, set and costume designer...
", Prooftexts: a Journal of Jewish Literary History (Indiana University Press), Vol. 7, No. 2, May 1987, pp. 145-162 - "The Invention of Hebrew Prose: Modern Fiction and the Language of Realism". Modern Fiction Studies (The Johns Hopkins University Press), Vol. 36, No. 4, Winter 1990, pp. 692–693
- "Whose Story Is It, Anyway? Ideology and Psychology in the Representation of the ShoahShoahShoah may refer to:*The Holocaust*Shoah , documentary directed by Claude Lanzmann * A Shoah Foundation...
in Israeli Literature" in Saul Friedlander (ed.), Probing the Limits of Representation: Nazism and the "Final Solution". Harvard University Press, 1992, pp. 223–239. ISBN 0674707664 - "Feminism under Siege: Israeli Women Writers" in Judith Reesa Baskin (ed.), Women of the Word: Jewish Women and Jewish Writing. Wayne State University Press, 1994, pp. 323–342. ISBN 0814324231
- "Postcolonial Memory, Postmodern Intertextuality: Anton ShammasAnton Shammas-Biography:Anton Shammas was one of six children born to Hanna Shammas, a Palestinian Christian barber and shoemaker,and a Lebanese mother who moved to Fassuta in 1936 to teach French at the local girls' school...
's Arabesques Revisited". PMLAModern Language AssociationThe Modern Language Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature...
, Vol. 114, No. 3 (May, 1999), pp. 373–389 - "From "The Madwoman in the Attic" to "The Women's Room": The American Roots of Israeli Feminism". Israel Studies, Vol. 5, No. 1, The Americanization of Israel, Spring 2000, pp. 266–286
- "From Essentialism to Constructivism? The Gender of Peace and War in Gilman, Woolf, Freud". Partial Answers: A Journal of Literature and History of Ideas, January 2004, pp. 113–145.
- "On the Cusp of Christianity: Virgin Sacrifice in Pseudo-PhiloPseudo-PhiloPseudo-Philo is the name commonly used for a Jewish pseudepigraphical work in Latin, so called because it was transmitted along with Latin translations of the works of Philo of Alexandria but is very obviously not written by Philo...
and Amos OzAmos OzAmos Oz is an Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist. He is also a professor of literature at Ben-Gurion University in Be'er Sheva....
". The Jewish Quarterly Review, Vol. 97, No. 3, Summer 2007, pp. 379–415. - "Deconstructing the Biblical Sources in Israeli Theater: Yisurei Iyov by Hanoch Levin". AJS Review, 1987, 12, pp 251–277
- "The Land of Issac? From 'Glory of Akedah' to 'Issac's Fear'". Shma: A Journal of Jewish Ideas, September 2011, pp.16-17.
- "Nation and Sacrifice: The Akedah and Zionist Ideology" , Secular Culture and Ideas.
Books
- Modernism and Cultural Transfer: Gabriel Preil and the tradition of Jewish literary bilingualism. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press 1986. ISBN 0878204091
- Polarity and Parallel: Semantic Patterns in the Medieval Hebrew Qasida (published in Hebrew as בין הקטבים לקו המשווה : שירת ימי־הביניים : תבניות סמאנטיות בשיר המורכב). Tel Aviv: Papyrus, 1987
- Teaching the Hebrew Bible as Literature in Translation, co-editor. New York: MLA Publications, 1989. ISBN 9780873525237
- No Room of Their Own: Gender and Nation in Israeli Women's Fiction. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. ISBN 0231111460 (also published in Hebrew translation by Michal Sapir as Lelo heder mishelahen: Migdar uleumiut biyetziratan shel sofrot israeliyot, Tel Aviv: ha-kibuts ha-memeuhad, 2002)
- Glory and agony: Isaac's Sacrifice and National Narrative. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2010. ISBN 9780804759021
External links
- Yael S. Feldman. "A Future With No Perhaps". New York Times, August 10, 1986
- Articles by Yael S. Feldman in Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia
- Yael S. Feldman on WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...
- Yael Feldman on Secularjewishculture.org Bookshelf section.