BY ALEXANDER ROLLE

In print | Published February 19, 2009

On Wednesday, Feb. 18, the religion department announced that Gwynn Kessler, an assistant professor of Jewish Studies, Rabbinic Literature, and Gender Studies at the University of Florida, Gainsville, has accepted a tenure-track position in Jewish Studies at Swarthmore. Professor Kessler will take up her new position in the fall of 2009.

According to Department Chair Steven Hopkins’ official announcement, Kessler has a Ph.D. in Rabbinics with a specialization in Midrash. In addition, her work has focused on issues of gender with relation to Judaism. “Her current research uses feminist and queer theories to interpret (and critique) rabbinic constructions of gender and the body,” Hopkins said in the announcement.

Her first book, titled “Conceiving Israel: The Fetus in Rabbinic Narratives,” is due to be published this year.

Kessler said that she decided to accept Swarthmore’s offer because of the quality of both the faculty and students she found here. “During my on-campus interview, I was very impressed with the sincerity, intelligence, interest, and warmth of the students. I was also delighted about their expressed interests in studying texts, which is one of the primary points of my own scholarly and teaching work,” she said in an e-mail.

The decision to offer the post to Kessler represents the end of a months-long search. According to Tariq al-Jamil, an assistant professor in the religion department, the search committee conducted preliminary interviews in November of 2008, eventually narrowing down the applicant pool to three finalists, who each came to Swarthmore and gave job talks in December and January.

The search committee, which included members of the religion department’s faculty, worked with faculty from other departments as well, according to al-Jamil. A range of other members of the Swarthmore community were also consulted, including students.

According to Hopkins, the search committee chose Kessler from “over 150 applicants … including scholars doing work in dozens of areas in Jewish studies.” While Kessler had many outstanding qualities that set her apart from the rest of the field, Hopkins emphasized her broad appeal for the community. “Gwynn was the students’ main choice,” he said.

The search committee was also excited by Kessler’s range of talents and interests. She is expected to work with the Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, as well as with the religion department. These interests will also likely affect the course offerings of the religion department. According to Hopkins, some courses will probably explore “areas of gender and the body,” which he says “interfaces with what a variety of us do.”

While the dismal economic climate is a factor in almost every move, at Swarthmore and elsewhere, it did not affect the hiring decision. “We hired who we wanted,” Hopkins said.

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