Sarah Baker, Assistant Professor of the Practice in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

Sarah Baker has a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures (with a specialty in Hebrew Bible/Ancient Near East) from the University of Texas at Austin, where she taught both Biblical and Modern Hebrew for several years and received the student-nominated “Foreign Language Teaching Excellence Award.” She has developed a variety of innovative Biblical Hebrew curricula (in-person and online) for UT Austin, Ridley College (Australia), and eTeacher Group (Israel), as well as served in both administrative/editorial and instructional roles for the National Association of Professors of Hebrew, the Biblical Language Center, and the Institute for Biblical Languages and Translation. Scholarly work that she has presented for conferences and peer-reviewed journals engages topics such as Hebrew language pedagogy, the social significance of biblical texts for the communities that composed and transmitted them (e.g., her dissertation work on the performative impact of Hebrew psalms), and clarifying linguistic and literary features of these texts in order to achieve more precise readings. Her present research deals with practical techniques for fostering genuine language acquisition in the ancient language classroom by integrating key principles of modern language pedagogy.

Contact Info:

Office Location:	John Hope Franklin Center, 2204 Erwin Road, Durham, NC 27708
Email Address:
Web Page:	https://duke.academia.edu/SarahLynnBaker

Teaching (Spring 2026):

• HEBREW 102.01, ELEMENTARY MODERN HEBREW Synopsis

  Perkins 065, MWF 01:25 PM-02:40 PM

  (also cross-listed as JEWISHST 102.01)

• HEBREW 203.01, INTERMED MODERN HEBREW Synopsis

  Trent 142, MWF 10:05 AM-11:20 AM

  (also cross-listed as JEWISHST 203.01)

• HEBREW 204.02, INTERMED MODERN HEBREW Synopsis

  Trent 142, MWF 10:05 AM-11:20 AM

  (also cross-listed as JEWISHST 204.02)

• HEBREW 305S.01, ADVANCED MODERN HEBREW Synopsis

  Perkins 085, TuTh 03:05 PM-04:20 PM

  (also cross-listed as JEWISHST 305S.01)

Education:

Ph.D.

University of Texas, Austin

2018

Recent Publications

1. Baker, S, “Biblical Hebrew Dialogues in the Language Classroom", Hebrew Higher Education, vol. 27 (2025), pp. 99-108  [abs]
2. Baker, SL, “And Now”: Transitions in Northwest Semitic Epigraphy and Narrative, edited by Kaplan, J; Pat-El, N, Maarav, vol. 25 no. 1-2 (August, 2022), pp. 17-30  [abs]
3. Baker, SL, Counting in Ugaritic: A New Analysis of kbd*, Journal of Semitic Studies, vol. 63 no. 1 (April, 2018), pp. 59-75, Oxford University Press (OUP) [doi]