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Andrea B. LieberAssociate Professor of Religion, Sophia Ava Asbell Chair in Judaic Studies (1998).East College Room 106lieber@dickinson.edu (717) 245-1482
Andrea B. LieberAssociate Professor of Religion, Sophia Ava Asbell Chair in Judaic Studies (1998).East College Room 106(717) 245-1482 | lieber@dickinson.edu B.A., Vassar College, 1989; M.A., Columbia University, 1993; M.Phil., 1995; Ph.D., 1998.Her courses explore the transformations of Judaism as a living religion and evolving culture from its origins in antiquity through its varied manifestations in the 20th century. Special interests include: Judaism and early Christianity, Jewish mysticism (kabbalah), women and gender in Jewish tradition.
Nitsa KannAssistant Professor of Judaic Studies (2005).East College Room 208(717) 254-8977 | kannn@dickinson.edu B.A., Hebrew University, 1982; M.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1984; Ph.D., 2005.Her teaching interests include Hebrew language, Hebrew Literature, Kabbalah, and Middle Eastern Cinema. She is the author of two Hebrew books of poems, 'Black Soul Singer' (1989), and 'A Woman With Child' (1992), and the author of two Hebrew novels, 'Gazelle of Love' (1995), and 'Herotica' (1998).
David D. ComminsProfessor of History, Benjamin Rush Chair in the Liberal Arts and Sciences (1987).Denny Hall Room 205(717) 245-1015 | commins@dickinson.edu | Visit Web SiteB.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1976; Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1985.His teaching interests are in modern Middle Eastern history with an emphasis on Islamic thought and political movements. His most recent book is The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia. Current projects include a textbook on the modern history of the Persian Gulf and an introduction to Islam in contemporary Saudi Arabian society.
Neil J. DiamantAssociate Professor of Asian Law and Society (2002).Stern Center for Global Educ Room 005(717) 245-1540 | diamantn@dickinson.edu B.A., Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1988; M.A., University of Washington, 1991; Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley, 1996.Professor Diamant's research focuses on law and society in Asia (with particular reference to China, Japan, and India), civil-military relations in China, patriotism in comparative perspective, and (most recently) public health. He also teaches courses on Israeli politics and Zionism. Recent publications: Professor Diamant is author of two books, Embattled Glory: Veterans, Military Families and the Politics of Patriotism in China, 1949-2007 (published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2009) and Revolutionizing the Family: Politics, Love, and Divorce in Urban and Rural China, 1949-1968 (published by University of California Press in 2000). He also published the edited volume Engaging the Law in China: State, Society and Possibilities for Justice (with Stanley Lubman and Kevin J. O'Brien) with Stanford University Press in 2005. His most recently-published articles include "Conspicuous Silence: Veterans and the Depoliticization of War Memory in China" (published in Modern Asian Studies in 2011) and "Veterans, Organization, and the Politics of Martial Citizenship in China" (published in The Journal of East Asian Studies in 2007). He has contributed chapters to a number of edited volumes, including "The Limitations of Martial Citizenship in the People's Republic of China," in Peled, Lewin-Epstein, Mundlak and Cohen's Democratic Citizenship and War (2010); "Why Archives?" in Carlson, Gallagher, Lieberthal, and Manion's Chinese Politics: New Sources, Methods, and Field Strategies (2010); and "Legal Syncretism and Family Change in Urban and Rural China" in Galvan and Sil's, Reconfiguring Institutions across Time and Space: Syncretic Responses to Challenges of Political and Economic Transformation (2007).
Edward P. MerwinPart-time Associate Professor of Religion; Director of The Milton B. Asbell Center for Jewish Life(2001).Asbell Center (717) 245-1636 | merwin@dickinson.edu B.A., Amherst College, 1990; M.A., Hunter College of the City University of New York, 1998; Ph.D., 2002.His teaching interests are in American Jewish history and popular culture, with a particular focus on the Lower East Side and Yiddish culture. His current research centers on Jewish-themed Broadway plays, and on the history of the Jewish deli in America.
Theodore PulciniThomas Bowman Professor of Religion and Philosophy (1995).East College Room 203A(717) 245-1208 | pulcini@dickinson.edu B.A., Harvard College, 1976; M.A., University of Notre Dame, 1979; Th.M., Harvard Divinity School, 1982; Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, 1994.Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 1998-1999; Dickinson Award for Distinguished Teaching, 2002-03.His teaching responsibilities focus on exploring the Biblical texts in their historical, social, and comparative contexts. He also specializes in Islam, early Christianity, and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Research interests include relations between Islam and Christianity, both past and present.
Karl D. Qualls (on leave 2011-12) Associate Professor of History (2000).Kaufman Hall Room 181quallsk@dickinson.edu | Visit Web SiteB.A., University of Missouri at Columbia, 1993; Ph.D., Georgetown University, 1998.Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 2003-04.His teaching interests include Russian and German history, comparative revolutions (political, social, and cultural), dictators, urban history, and more. His new book "From Ruins to Reconstruction: Urban Identity in Soviet Sevastopol after World War II" (Cornell, 2009) overturns notions of totalitarianism, investigates the creation of historical myths, and outlines the role of monuments and urban space in identity formation in a city torn between Ukraine and Russia. He is currently working on a new book about children who fled the Spanish Civil War and were raised in the Soviet Union.
Shalom D. StaubAssociate Provost for Academic Affairs (2004).West College (Old West) 2nd Floor(717) 245-1080 | staubs@dickinson.edu | Visit Web SiteB.A., Wesleyan University, 1977; M.A., 1978; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1985.His research and teaching interests focus on 1) various dimensions of conflict analysis, conflict resolution and peacemaking, and 2) the ethnography of religious experience, including “folk” religion, religion and conflict, and the intersection of religion with race, ethnicity, and gender. These interests play out in his courses on conflict and conflict resolution studies, religion and conflict, ethnography of Jewish experience, folk religious practices in the Middle East and North Africa, and immigration and religious diversity in the US.