Secunda goes to Bard

CONGRATULATIONS TO SHAI SECUNDA: Distinguished Scholar of Religion Shai Secunda To Join Bard College Faculty.

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—Bard College announces the appointment of Shai Secunda as the Jacob Neusner Professor in the History and Theology of Judaism. Secunda, who joins the faculty in fall 2016, is a specialist in Talmudic and Judaic studies and will teach courses in Jewish Studies and other topics through the Religion Program at Bard. An endowed chair, the Jacob Neusner Professor in the History and Theology of Judaism was established in recognition of Neusner’s distinguished contributions to the field and to Bard College.

“I am thrilled to join the Bard faculty, and I am deeply honored to accept the Neusner chair,” says Secunda. “Half a century ago, Jacob Neusner, one of the 20th century’s most influential scholars, invested immense efforts toward taking Jewish studies out of its parochial past and putting it in dialogue with religious studies. I hope I can build on Neusner’s legacy and work to further integrate the study of classical Judaism and Jewish literature within the contemporary humanities, as exemplified by Bard’s invigorating liberal arts setting.”

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Professor Secunda is well known to PaleoJudaica readers for his posts at the Talmud Blog and for his book, The Iranian Talmud. He was here in St. Andrews a couple of years ago for the Iranian Kingship Workshop. Congratulations both to him and to Bard College.