Laura S. Lieber, Visiting Professor of Religious Studies

My primary area of research is in the area of synagogue poetry ("piyyut") from Late Antiquity and the Byzantine period. I examine these works from a variety of perspectives, including literary, performative, and comparative (particularly with early Christian hymnography in Syriac and Greek), and also as a genre of early Jewish biblical interpretation. In recent years, I have begun to integrate the study of material culture into my analysis of these literary works, as part of taking a more fully "contextual" approach to literary analysis. My most recent work approaches late ancient hymnography through the lens of theater studies and performance.

Contact Info:

Office Location:	118B Gray Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Office Phone:	+1 919 660 3504
Email Address:

Teaching (Spring 2024):

• RELIGION 810.01, ECCLESIASTES AND ESTHER Synopsis

  Westbrook 0013, W 03:00 PM-05:30 PM

  (also cross-listed as JEWISHST 810.01)

• OLDTEST 990.01, TOPICS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Synopsis

  Westbrook 0013, W 03:05 PM-05:35 PM

Education:

Ph.D.	The University of Chicago	2003
M.A.	Hebrew Union College	1998
B.A.	University of Arkansas, Fayetteville	1994

Specialties:

Judaism
Hebrew Bible

Research Interests: History of Biblical Interpretation; Rabbinics; Early and Medieval Synagogue

Current projects: Songs from the Western Shore (volume on Aramaic poetry), The Liturgical Stage (ancient hymnography through lens of theater)

My primary area of research is in the area of synagogue poetry ("piyyut") from Late Antiquity and the Byzantine period. I examine these works from a variety of perspectives, including literary, performative, and comparative (particularly with early Christian hymnography in Syriac and Greek), and also as a genre of early Jewish biblical interpretation. In recent years, I have begun to integrate the study of material culture into my analysis of these literary works, as part of taking a more fully "contextual" approach to literary analysis. My most recent work approaches late ancient hymnography through the lens of theater studies and performance.

Areas of Interest:

Byzantine Liturgical Poetry
Jewish Culture in Late Antiquity
Jewish Liturgy (history of)
Rabbinic Literature
History of Biblical Interpretation
Medieval Judaism

Curriculum Vitae

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

1. Lieber, LS, Aesthetic Convention and Ritual Creativity in Late Antique Piyyut, Prooftexts - Journal of Jewish Literature History, vol. 40 no. 1 (January, 2023), pp. 12-58 [doi]  [abs]
2. Lieber, LS, Power and Praxis: Writing and Performance in Megillat Ahimaatz, Hebrew Studies, vol. 64 (January, 2023), pp. 111-131 [doi]  [abs]
3. Lieber, LS, SYMPOSIUM READING, WRITING, AND RITUAL: JEWISH BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS IN LATE ANTIQUITY INTRODUCTION, Hebrew Studies, vol. 64 (January, 2023), pp. 5-9 [doi]  [abs]
4. Lieber, LS, "On This Day, We Are Perfect": Embodiment in Yannai's Yom Kippur Qerova, Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy, vol. 30 no. 1 (January, 2022), pp. 37-69 [doi]  [abs]
5. Lieber, LS, Sukkot in the Garden of Eden: Liturgy, Christianity, and the Bronze Bird on Mount Gerizim, in The Samaritans: A Biblical People (January, 2022), pp. 94-101, ISBN 9789004466906 [doi]