2023-24 Katz Center Fellow

The Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania is now accepting fellowship applications for the 2023–2024 academic year on the theme of THE SOUND AND MUSIC OF JEWISH LIFE

THE KATZ CENTER is pleased to announce the theme for its 2023–24 international fellowship program—the study of sound, music, and aurality in Jewish life, past and present.

The year has two interrelated goals: 1) to promote new research into the study of the various musical cultures that have developed in Jewish contexts; 2) to encourage explorations of the role of sound in Jewish life and culture. The first goal is an effort to build on recent advances in the study of Jewish music and musical culture from a proliferation of new sources, resources, and approaches.

The second goal acknowledges the emergence of sound studies as a vital area of inquiry, an interdisciplinary field that encompasses sound- and listening-related practices, the orality of oral traditions, the aural dimensions of Jewish literature, deaf culture, the history and impact of sound[1]related technologies, the study of Jewish soundscapes, and the linguistic study of Jewish accents, among other potential topics.

The Center invites applications from scholars and scholar-artists pursuing research on related topics and who are willing to participate and contribute as part of a cross-disciplinary cohort. The Center is open to proposals from a variety of fields that include musicology and ethnomusicology, the history of Jewish music or sound, literature and folklore studies, the study of technology or architecture, linguistics, the study of liturgy, relevant social sciences, and other fields as they relate to Jewish studies. Though the Center cannot offer rehearsal or performance space, we are open to proposals from applicants seeking to combine scholarship with creative and/or performance-related work.

Katz Center fellows are provided with the time and resources needed to pursue their individual projects (including an office, computer, and library privileges at the University of Pennsylvania), and are also expected to actively engage in the intellectual life of the fellowship community. All applicants must hold a doctoral degree or expect to receive it by the start date of the fellowship. Fellows are expected to live in Philadelphia for the term of their fellowship.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: OCTOBER 24, 2022

For more information about the Katz Center’s fellowship program and to access the application portal, please visit us online. katz.sas.upenn.edu