Aaron Hahn Tapper

Aaron J. Hahn Tapper is the Mae and Benjamin Swig Professor in Jewish Studies and founding Director of the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice at the University of San Francisco (USF), where he has been a full-time faculty member since 2007. He is also Program Director at USF and Executive Director of the Center for Transformative Education co-founded in 2008.

• PhD in Religious Studies (History of Religions, Sociology of Religions, Nonviolence and Religions, Politics and Religions, Modern Islamic Movements) from University of California, Santa Barbara
• MTS in World Religions from Harvard Divinity School
• BA in Psychology from Johns Hopkins University

His research focuses on the intersection between identity formation, social justice, and marginalized groups, with particular attention to Jewish and Muslim communities in conflict zones, nonviolent religious movements, and the dynamics between religion and politics. His work spans pedagogical approaches to social justice, religious law in conflict contexts, and cross-cultural identity studies.

The selected publications demonstrate consistent engagement with nonviolence, interfaith relations, conflict transformation, and social justice pedagogy, reflecting both broad disciplinary foundations (Religious Studies, Political Science, Education) and specific subfields like Israeli-Palestinian studies, transformative learning, and religious movement analysis.

Scientific Awards

• Harvard University Frederick Sheldon Traveling Fellowship
• Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship
• Wexner Graduate Fellowship

A former Fulbright Senior Scholar in Australia (2013-14), he is currently writing a comparative analysis of Australia's First Peoples and Native Americans. Academically fluent in multiple Hebrew and Arabic dialects, he has lived and studied in diverse locations including Bir Zeit, Cairo, Fes, Jerusalem, and the Hague.