THE JORDAN SCHNITZER BOOK AWARDS
The Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards are the first annual book award program to be offered by the Association for Jewish Studies, made possible by funding from the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation of Portland, Oregon. These awards recognize and promote outstanding scholarship in the field of Jewish Studies and honor scholars whose work embodies the best in the field: rigorous research, theoretical sophistication, innovative methodology, and excellent writing. The awards are structured to recognize all areas of Jewish Studies research, paying tribute to both the breadth and depth of AJS members' scholarship.
Launched in 2008, the AJS awarded two $5,000 Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards on an annual basis. Since 2012, the AJS The categories rotate over a two-year cycle, for a total of eight categories. Each winner will receive $10,000 and each finalist $2,000. The eight categories are:
Philosophy and Jewish Thought
Biblical Studies, Rabbinics, and Jewish History and Culture in Antiquity
Jewish Literature and Linguistics
Medieval and Early Modern Jewish History
Modern Jewish History—Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania
Social Science, Anthropology, and Folklore
Jews and the Arts (visual, performance, music)
Modern Jewish History—European & Israel
2018 Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards
2018 Submission Categories:
Biblical Studies, Rabbinics, and Jewish History and Culture in Antiquity
Jews and the Arts: Music, Performance, and Visual
Modern Jewish History and Culture: Europe and Israel
Social Science, Anthropology, and Folklore
Eligibility requirements:
Membership: Only current AJS members for the 2017 – 2018 membership year may submit their books for consideration or be nominated by a publisher
Copyright Date: Only books with copyright dates of 2016 or 2017 are eligible for the 2018 Schnitzer Award.
Language: The Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards are currently only accepting books written in English.
Monographs: Only monographs are eligible for the 2018 Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards. Reference works and edited volumes will not be considered.
Translations: Translations and/or commentaries of a classical work are eligible for submission, as long as the book’s translator or editor is an AJS member. Translations and/or commentaries of a recent scholarly work are also eligible for submission, but in this case, the original author, who would need to be a current AJS member, would be eligible for the award.
Resubmission: Books may be submitted for consideration no more than two times in a two-year period. Previous winners or finalists may not resubmit.
FINALISTS
In the category of Biblical Studies, Rabbinics, and Jewish History and Culture in Antiquity
The Literary Imagination in Jewish Antiquity
EVA MROCZEK, University of California, Davis
Oxford University Press
In the category of Jews and the Arts: Music, Performance, and Visual
Honest Bodies: Revolutionary Modernism in the Dances of Anna Sokolow
HANNAH KOSSTRIN, The Ohio State University
Oxford University Press
In the category of Modern Jewish History and Culture: Europe and Israel
A Home for All Jews: Citizenship, Rights, and National Identity in the New Israeli State
ORIT ROZIN, Tel Aviv University
Brandeis University Press
In the category of Social Science, Anthropology, and Folklore
Modernity and the Jews in Western Social Thought
CHAD ALAN GOLDBERG, University of Wisconsin-Madison
The University of Chicago Press
WINNERS
In the category of Biblical Studies, Rabbinics, and Jewish History and Culture in Antiquity
Blood for Thought: The Reinvention of Sacrifice in Early Rabbinic Literature
MIRA BALBERG, University of California, San Diego
University of California Press
In the category of Jews and the Arts: Music, Performance, and Visual
The Jewish Bible: A Material History
DAVID STERN, Harvard University
University of Washington Press
In the category of Modern Jewish History and Culture: Europe and Israel
Jabotinsky’s Children: Polish Jews and the Rise of Right-Wing Zionism
DANIEL KUPFERT HELLER, Monash University
Princeton University Press
In the category of Social Science, Anthropology, and Folklore
When the State Winks: The Performance of Jewish Conversion in Israel
MICHAL KRAVEL-TOVI, Tel Aviv University
Columbia University Press
2017 Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards
The Association of Jewish Studies annoucned its Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards recipeints. The Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards are the first annual book award program to be offered by the AJS, made possible by funding from philanthropist Jordan D. Schnitzer and the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE AWARDS
NEWS
2016 Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards
The Association of Jewish Studies held its Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards reception at its annual conference on December 18th, 2016 in San Diego, CA. The Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards are the first annual book award program to be offered by the AJS, made possible by funding from philanthropist Jordan D. Schnitzer and the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE AWARDS
NEWS
PHOTOS
2016 Association of Jewish Studies Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards, San Diego, CA
2015 JORDAN SCHNITZER BOOK AWARDS
The Association of Jewish Studies held its Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards reception at its annual conference on December 13th, 2015 in Boston, MA. The Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards are the first annual book award program to be offered by the AJS, made possible by funding from philanthropist Jordan D. Schnitzer and the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE AWARDS
NEWS
PHOTOS
2015 Association of Jewish Studies Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards, Boston, MA
