Prof. Paula Hyman - A Short Resume

Paula E. Hyman is the Lucy Moses Professor of Modern Jewish History and Chairperson of the Program in Judaic Studies at Yale University.  A graduate of the Hebrew College of Boston and of Radcliffe College, she received her M.A. and Ph.D from Columbia University, where she taught Jewish History for several years.  She has also taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and served there as Dean of the Seminary College of Jewish Studies. Professor Hyman held a Lady Davis Fellowship in 1986.  A specialist in the modern period, Professor Hyman has devoted her research to two areas, the History of French Jewry and Jewish Women's History.  Among her books are "The Emancipation of the Jews of Alsace - Acculturation and Tradition in the Nineteenth Century"; From Dreyfus to Vichy - The Remaking of French Jewry, 1906 - 1939; "The Jewish Woman in America" (co-authored with Charlotte Baum and Sonya Michel); and "The Jewish Family - Images and Reality" (co-edited with Steven M. Cohen).  Her book, "Gender and Assimilation in Modern Jewish History" has appeared in a Hebrew translation.  She has just completed a general history of the Jews of France to be published by the University of California Press and is co-editor, with Deborah Dash Moore of the two-volume "Jewish Women in America - An Historical Encyclopedia".  The encyclopedia has recently received the American Librarians Association Dartmouth Medal Award and an award from the Association of Jewish Libraries as the best reference work published in 1997.

Professor Hyman's Keynote Address

Prof. Hyman then delivered her keynote address (a synopsis appears below) on "The Entry of Women into Modern Jewish History".  Judging by the questions asked after her address and the lively interest it generated amongst many of the Fellows it was extremely well received.  We are very grateful to Prof. Hyman for agreeing to come to Jerusalem and for contributing so substantially to the success of the celebrations.

The Entry of Women into Modern Jewish History - A Synopsis

Prof. Hyman addressed the expansion of Jewish women's roles in the past century as well as the ways in which a gender - sensitive perspective on history has led to new insights about such central aspects of modern Jewish life as assimilation, the political mobilization of Jews, and the understanding of Jewish religious experience.  Focusing on eastern Europe, the United States, and the Yishuv, Professor Hyman explored the emergence of Jewish women into public life as leaders in social welfare, as zionist pioneers, and as political activists.  She demonstrated how 'the woman question' has played a major role in the shaping of modern Jewish identities.