The following is a full report on our membership as of 29 August 2021. It presents data receieved via our membership GoogleForm, with analysis completed on Monday 30 August, 2021.
For a summary of the report’s findings, see our recent blog post, “Membership update”.
We still welcome new members joining our network! If there is a significant change to the profile below through the joining of new members, we will update the data and revise our analysis when and where relevant.
1. Affiliation of respondents
| Affiliation of all members | Responses |
|---|---|
| Lund University | 19 |
| Uppsala University | 14 |
| No affiliation given | 10 |
| University of Oslo | 4 |
| University of Helsinki | 4 |
| Åbo Akademi University | 4 |
| University of Copenhagen | 4 |
| Aarhus University | 2 |
| Malmö University | 2 |
| Örebro University | 2 |
| Stockholm University | 2 |
| Södertorn University | 2 |
| University of Gothenburg | 2 |
| Roskilde University | 2 |
| Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden | 2 |
| Oslo Metropolitan University | 1 |
| University of Southeastern Norway | 1 |
| Linköping University | 1 |
| Mid-Sweden University | 1 |
| MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society | 1 |
| Jewish Museum (Stockholm) | 1 |
| University of Oxford | 1 |
| The Swedish Language Council | 1 |
| Tel Aviv University | 1 |
| Umeå University | 1 |
| Stockholm School of Theology (University College Stockholm) | 1 |
| Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences | 1 |
| Copenhagen Business School | 1 |
| Total number of institutions (excluding those who listed none) | 27 |
| Countries represented among affiliated members | Number of institutions |
|---|---|
| Denmark | 4 |
| Finland | 2 |
| Norway | 5 |
| Sweden | 14 |
| Non-nordic affiliations | 2 |
| Total number of countries represented | 6 |
2. Responses from affiliated members
2.1 Research area responses from affiliated members
The resarch areas represented among affiliated members is truly wide-ranging, spanning the full spectrum of Jewish Studies specialisms. Here follows a summary of research interests, grouped into functional clusters presented in no particular order.
NB: These clusters are not intended to silo/group research areas into immovable camps – it is more a way of drawing together similar areas of interest so that the information can be presented in a digestable way.
- Jewish history and related disciplines, including the study of the Ancient Near East, Biblical and post-Biblical periods (Antiquity to the Middle Ages) and their languages, texts and traditions.
- Jewish thought, philosophy and ethics
- Jewish languages across Europe, including semitic languages, Yiddish language and literature
- Research into the history and development of strands of Judaism and Jewish communities and their historical and contemporary contexts
- Jewish movements including socialist and radical Jewish movements
- Modern Jewish history, language, and cultural production in modern contemporary contexts both in Israel and the wider diaspora, with a particular focus on Jewish communities from across Europe (especially relating to Eastern Europe and the Germanosphere) and those in the Nordic countries.
- Relationship between contemporary Nordic national contexts and Jewish communities in the areas of law, antisemitism, citizenship and belonging
- Jewish identity construction, including intermarriage and conversion in historical and contemporary Nordic and Eastern European Jewish communities
- Migration of Jewish communities, interrelationships between these Jewish communities in contemporary settings and their migration heritage.
- Jewish cultural heritage, and associated museum and archival collections of Jewish artefacts
- Gender Studies and Sexuality Studies
- Interreligious interaction and dialogue (historical and modern), conflict resolution and inter-faith approaches and practices, Jewish/non-Jewish relations
- Ethnography
- Music and Judaism
- Jewish horticulture and farming
- Antisemitism and anti-Judaism in Western philosophy
- Holocaust Studies (including in Nordic contexts), Genocide studies, Jewish Refugees and Holocaust survivors in Nordic contexts
- Zionism
2.2 Teaching area responses from affiliated members
The responses from affiliated members on their teaching areas mirror broadly the collection of interests identified above in section 2.1.
Respondents also listed a range of settings in which they teach, including in-person and remote courses, workshops, seminar series, and occasional teaching, as well as public-facing teaching and training, e.g., toward Jewish and Christian communities, in religious/confessional settings as well as through cultural institutions like museums.
2.2.1 Supervision of MA/PhD Students
31 respondents currently supervise MA and PhD students.
19 respondents do not currently supervise MA and PhD students, however 13 of these do not currently supervise students but have past experience of supervision and/or have supervision as part of their role.
2.3 What information do you want the Network to share with you, and what information are you willing to share with the Network?
| What kind of information would you like this network in Jewish Studies to share? | Responses |
|---|---|
| Research news | 62 |
| Courses offered at universities across the Nordic region | 34 |
| Academic event announcements (upcoming lectures, seminars, conferences, etc) | 60 |
| Non-academic event announcement (public engagement events, etc.) | 33 |
| Blog posts | 23 |
| Resource sharing | 39 |
| Information on funders/funding/funding calls | 42 |
| All of the above | 6 |
The responses given under ‘other’ included: information about meet-ups, job announcements, and calls for papers/proposals.
| What kind of information would you like to share with others through the Network? | Responses |
|---|---|
| Research news | 52 |
| Courses offered at universities across the Nordic region | 28 |
| Academic event announcements (upcoming lectures, seminars, conferences, etc) | 51 |
| Non-academic event announcement (public engagement events, etc.) | 27 |
| Blog posts | 7 |
| Resource sharing | 25 |
| Information on funders/funding/funding calls | 18 |
| All of the above | 4 |
3. Responses from unaffiliated members
3.1 Sector they work in
Those respondents who did not indicate affiliation with Higher Education institutions were asked to identify the sector they work in. The responses include:
- Education and Teaching,
- Indepenent researcher in academic and non-academic contexts,
- Media and Communications
- Religious institutions
- Health.
There are also a few retired members among the unaffiliated respondents.
3.2 Interests in Jewish Studies and related fields
We asked unaffiliated members to tell us a little about their interests in Jewish Studies, related disciplines, and/or inter-faith work. The responses we received demonstrated the range of interest areas and experience.
Our unaffiliated members include former students of Jewish Studies and/or Christian Theology, as well as those interested in pursuing education in Jewish Studies in the future. We also have members of the Jewish community in Sweden, as well as members with strong links with the Jewish cultural heritage sector.
The responses to this question included a range of interests in:
- Historical disciplines, including Jewish history, sociology, culture, language, and literature
- Contemporary Jewish communities in the Nordic region and in Europe more broadly
- Jewish pluralism
- Urban Studies – places and spaces that Jewish communities have and do use, and continue to create
- Migration studies, including the migration of Jews throughout Europe
- Inter-religious and inter-cultural work, including Jewish/non-Jewish relations
- Jewish heritage and cultural preservation, as well as Jewish museums and archive collections (both private and public)
3.3 What information do you want the Network to share with you, and what information are you willing to share with the Network?
| What kind of information would you like this network in Jewish Studies to share? | Responses |
|---|---|
| Research news | 7 |
| Courses offered at universities across the Nordic region | 3 |
| Academic event announcements (upcoming lectures, seminars, conferences, etc) | 9 |
| Non-academic event announcement (public engagement events, etc.) | 5 |
| Blog posts | 2 |
| Resource sharing | 3 |
| Information on funders/funding/funding calls | 3 |
| All of the above | 1 |
| What kind of information would you like to share with others through the Network? | Responses |
|---|---|
| Research news | 3 |
| Courses offered at universities across the Nordic region | 1 |
| Academic event announcements (upcoming lectures, seminars, conferences, etc) | 3 |
| Non-academic event announcement (public engagement events, etc.) | 5 |
| Blog posts | 1 |
| Resource sharing | 3 |
| Information on funders/funding/funding calls | 0 |
| All of the above | 0 |
Final comments
Here is a selection of the comments provided at the conclusion of the GoogleForm:
I would love to see a calendar of social events established and learning circles, so that we can actually form a community of scholars beyond the internet. I think it is especially important for international scholars who find themselves in Scandinavia.
I hope that this will become an excellent networking resource, as many professional opportunities (in Sweden at least) are heavily network based.
I hope that we will arrange some event soon in the material world where we can come together, present, discuss, exchange ideas and get to know each other.
It would be of value to clarify how this network relates to other networks, institutions and fora dealing with Jewish studies in the Nordic region?
I would suggest and could help to organize the annual/biannual meeting of the network for further consolidation and brainstorming regarding the direction and opportunities of the network. One of these meetings could take place at our Institute.
I plan a research proposal on topics related to Jewish culture and history, archives and cultural memory from an epoch-spanning perspective (from the Middle Ages until today). As a member of the Nordic Network for Jewish Studies, I hope to contribute to making available relevant information for the Network as a whole, such as archival resources and academic or non-academic events, and to expand my scholarly network within the field of Jewish and other related studies. I am looking forward to joining the Nordic Network for Jewish Studies!
Thank you for the important initiative, please link to [Nordisk judaistik/Scandinavian Jewish Studies] from the site.
Thank you very much for all your work on this! This is a great initiative!
Thank you for all your positive feedback and support! If you have any questions or feedback about the report above, please contact us.
Nordic Network for Jewish Studies 