Center for Jewish Studies

Fred Astren: “Medieval Jewish History and the New Mediterranean Studies

Fred Astren, Chair of Jewish Studies at San Francisco State University, holds degrees in Medieval History, Arabic, and Near Eastern Studies. His interests include minority/sectarian history and sacred history in the Mediterranean Middle Ages, with special focus on Jewish history under Islam, Jewish-Muslim relations, and the Karaite Jewish sect.

Tasha Oren: “I’m Going to Make You Love Me: History and Israel’s Tele-Imagination”

Television has taken part in articulation of cultural and national identity all over the globe. How is a sense of “the local” changing as media grows increasingly mobile and new global television forms dominate world-wide programming? In Israel, a debate about television’s birth escalated to a national argument over occupation of Palestinian territories, relations with Arab neighbors, and it’s internal, conflicting visions of shared culture and identity.

International Connections

In addition to our collaborative work on campus and outreach to the local community, the Center for Jewish Studies has created a vibrant network of links with scholars and institutions in other countries, most notably Israel, France, Hungary, and Italy.