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I am an Associate Professor of International Studies, History, and Jewish Studies at the University of Washington in Seattle, where I also hold the Jack and Rebecca Benaroya Endowed Chair in Israel Studies.
My ongoing research focuses on Jewish cultural history and collective memory, the history of Zionism, language ideology and policy, and the politics surrounding nation formation in Palestine/Israel, particularly during the interwar period and the first decades of Israeli statehood.
My first book, Babel in Zion: Jews, Nationalism and Language Diversity in Palestine, 1920-1948, was published by Yale University Press and awarded the Shapiro Prize from the Association for Israel Studies for best book in Israel Studies.
In 2016-2017 I was a fellow at the University of Michigan's Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies, where I began work on a second book project, "The Oldest Guard: Narratives of Beginnings in Palestine and Israel." A locally-based study of the European Jewish agricultural colonies first established in late 19th century Palestine, I explore national memory and commemoration, the politics of heroism and "firstness," and the often ambiguous place of these early colonies in evolving narratives about the origins and implications of the Zionist settlement project in Palestine.
I teach courses on the history of Israel/Palestine, Jewish History, and the Modern Middle East, as well as comparative courses on history and memory, diaspora, and urban studies.
I've lectured widely to university and community audiences at the University of Chicago, Yale, Oxford, UCLA, the University of Southern California, Berkeley, the University of Wisconsin, Middlebury College, Bard College and in a variety of public venues.
I have also been faculty in Modern Jewish History, in Dallas and Denver, for the Wexner Heritage Program, an intensive Jewish Studies course for Jewish community leaders.
My ongoing research focuses on Jewish cultural history and collective memory, the history of Zionism, language ideology and policy, and the politics surrounding nation formation in Palestine/Israel, particularly during the interwar period and the first decades of Israeli statehood.
My first book, Babel in Zion: Jews, Nationalism and Language Diversity in Palestine, 1920-1948, was published by Yale University Press and awarded the Shapiro Prize from the Association for Israel Studies for best book in Israel Studies.
In 2016-2017 I was a fellow at the University of Michigan's Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies, where I began work on a second book project, "The Oldest Guard: Narratives of Beginnings in Palestine and Israel." A locally-based study of the European Jewish agricultural colonies first established in late 19th century Palestine, I explore national memory and commemoration, the politics of heroism and "firstness," and the often ambiguous place of these early colonies in evolving narratives about the origins and implications of the Zionist settlement project in Palestine.
I teach courses on the history of Israel/Palestine, Jewish History, and the Modern Middle East, as well as comparative courses on history and memory, diaspora, and urban studies.
I've lectured widely to university and community audiences at the University of Chicago, Yale, Oxford, UCLA, the University of Southern California, Berkeley, the University of Wisconsin, Middlebury College, Bard College and in a variety of public venues.
I have also been faculty in Modern Jewish History, in Dallas and Denver, for the Wexner Heritage Program, an intensive Jewish Studies course for Jewish community leaders.
