Ezra Tzfadya, M.A.

Biographie

Ezra Tzfadya is a lecturer and research associate at the University of Bamberg's Oriental Studies Institute, Chair for Jewish Studies. He is writing his doctoral dissertation in Islamic Studies at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg under the supervision of Prof. George Tamer titled "The Theocratic Idea and Modernity in Judaism and Shiite Islam: Sovereign Guardianship, Autonomy and the Law."

Through Bamberg's Center for Inter-religious Studies (ZIS), Ezra has conceived and will be convening a major international conference this April together with Florida International University in Miami titled "The Shia-Jewish Encounter: Texts, Contexts and Contemporary Implications." He was also responsible for the conception and management of the summer 2018 Bavarian Orient Colloquium with the theme " Jews, Judaism and Near Eastern Context." Ezra is a recipient of a German Academic Exchange (DAAD) doctoral fellowship, as well as a Fulbright. Ezra holds an M.A. from Princeton University in Religion, and a B.A. in Arabic and German from Dartmouth College. He is a North Miami Beach, Florida native.

Academic Employment

Otto-Friedrich Universität, Bamberg. Institute of Oriental Studies
Lecturer and Research Assistent (Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter)
Chair for Jewish Studies (Supervisor: Prof. Susanne Talabardon)
M.A. program in Middle Eastern Cultural Studies (Excellence Initiative)

Education

July 2015-Present

Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-NürnbergPh.D. Candidate, Islamic Studies (ABD)

DAAD (German Academic Exchange) Doctoral Fellow (2015-17)Dissertation Title: “The Theocratic Idea and Modernity in Judaism and Shiite-Islam. Sovereign Guardianship, Autonomy, and The Law.”Advisor: Professor George Tamer. Chair for Islamic Studies. (Main Advisor)

September 2009- October 2013

Princeton University

M.A. Religion (3 years of doctoral coursework completed)

July 2007- May 2008

Fulbright Fellowship

Freie Universität zu Berlin: Islamic Studies

September 2003- August 2007

Dartmouth CollegeB.A. Cum Laude, High Honors, James O. Freedman Presidential ScholarMajors: German Studies, Arabic Language & LiteratureMinor: Jewish Studies

Languages

English (Native)
German (Near-Native)
Hebrew (High Advanced)
Arabic (High Advanced)
Persian (High Advanced)
French (High Intermediate, Advanced Academic Reading)
Aramaic (Advanced Reading-Talmud)
Turkish (Low Intermediate)

Publications

Double Blind Peer-Reviewed Publications

“Retrieving the Foundations and Future of Islamic Modernism: Fazlur Rahman and Mohammed Shabestari on Hermeneutics, Prophetic Epistemology, and the Modern Islamic State” in Philosophical Hermeneutics in the Islamicate Context. Callmieri, S. Varmick, S. eds. Berlin: Springer Press. In Preparation. 2019. (Contributors include Professors Constance Haschem Arminjon, Alireza Shomali, Urs Goesken, Carool Keersten & Mohammed el-Bizri)

“The Concept of Faith in Jewish Philosophy: Belief before Law, or Law before Belief” in Key Concepts in Interreligious Discourses: Faith. Tamer, G. ed. Boston/Berlin: De Gruyter. Forthcoming 2019. (Contributors include Professors Ovamir Amjum Walter Spam & Susanne Talabardon)

“Modern Shiite and Jewish Existence Philosophy in Dialogue(306.9 KB): The Problem of Autonomy” (forthcoming) in Tradition and Innovation- Avicenna and Mulla Sadra in Dialogue. Boston/Berlin: De Gruyter. Forthcoming 2019. (Contributors include Professors Mohsen Kadivar, Mohammed Shebastari, Hassan Hanafi, Mohammed Legenhausen, & Mohammed Rustom).

“Rethinking Leo Strauss’ Critique of Modernity and Platonic-Theocratic Corrective in Light of Rav Kook and Khomeini .” in Philosophy and Law: Jewish and Islamic Thought between the Poles of Theocracy and Theology. Boston/Berlin: De Gruyter, Forthcoming 2019.(Contributors include Karl-Erich Groezinger, Wilferd Madelung, John McCormick, Hans Daiber, Peter Adamson, Bettina Koch & Clemens Kauffmann).

“Living the Truth of a Free Europe(139.1 KB): Community, Philosophy, and Responsibility in the Thought of Franz Rosenzweig and Walter Benjamin.” in The Rosenzweig Jahrbuch 3: The Idea of Europe.“ ed. Braser, M. Freiburg/München: Alber, 2008

Edited Publication

Tzfadya, Ezra. ed. Jews, Judaism and Near-East Context: Intercultural Productivity, Political Tensions and the Presence of Absence. Ergon Press. (In Preparation)

Academic Book Translation

Tamer, George. Islamic Philosophy and the Crisis of Modernity: Leo Strauss’s Interpretation of Alfarabi, Avicenna und Averroes. An updated English Translation of Islamische Philosophie und die Krise der Moderne: Das Verhältnis von Leo Strauss zu Alfarabi.. Avicenna und Averroes. Trns. Tzfadya, E New York: SUNY. Forthcoming 2019.

Focus on Teaching and Research

Jewish and Islamic Political Thought
Methods and Theories in the Study of Religion
Political Theology
Middle East Politics and Constitutionalism