Women and the Power of the Parable/Mashal
Undergraduate / Graduate Project
Project Information
Abigail Gillman, Professor of Hebrew, German, and Comparative Literature at Boston University, is working on a book that narrates a genealogy of the Jewish parable (mashal). A parable is born of the narrator’s desire to teach wisdom; to elevate listeners to a new kind of understanding; to help them see things different. But that wisdom is never stated directly. The mashal engages listeners in a hermeneutic process, whereby they are lured into the space of the story and find their own message. The book will focus on how 20th and 21st century Jewish writers, especially Franz Kafka and Martin Buber, transformed an ancient genre of teaching wisdom and made it useful for modern Jewish literature.
Professor Gilman is looking for an intern to assist her with the chapter that will explore the place of gender and women in this history by looking at parables, and parabolic stories, told and written by, for, and about women. From the wise woman of Tekoa in II Samuel 14, to stories in medieval Yiddish women's Bibles, to short fiction by contemporary writers such as Dvora Baron, Joanna Pearl, and Orly Castel-Bloom, to religious writings by Ruth Calderon, Haviva Pedaya, and Tamar Biala, the project will examine when and how women, who were excluded from Jewish intellectual life for most of history, access its power, both as modern writers of fiction and as religious teachers. The work will entail internet research (20%), library research (30%), and reading primary and secondary sources, summarizing the material and discussing it with Professor Gilman (50%).
Profile of Appropriate Candidate
- College level course work focused on literary study and a love of literature
- Knowledge of German, Hebrew or Yiddish helpful, but not required
- Strong library and online research skills; familiarity working with primary sources helpful
- Excellent writing and communication skills
- Organized, independent, and resourceful
- Ability to meet deadlines and complete assignments independently