معرفی
Jacques Ehrenfreund is a Full Professor at the University of Lausanne's Faculty of Theology and Sciences of Religions, where he is affiliated with the Institute for History and Anthropology of Religions (IHAR) and the Interdisciplinary Center for Jewish Studies. Based at Anthropole 5015 (Tel: +41 21 692 27 08), he specializes in long-term Jewish historical studies through the lens of ideas, representations, and practices.
His research centers on three interconnected strands: the history of Jews and Judaism with emphasis on historiography and historiosophy; the history of anti-Judaism from antiquity to contemporary periods; and the construction of social identities within nationalized European societies, particularly examining religious rituals and the interaction between politics and religion. He focuses extensively on German-speaking Judaism as a laboratory for modern Jewish thought, while maintaining a strong interest in Shoah studies, diaspora dynamics, and socio-cultural memory mechanisms.
Analysis of his recent publications reveals a consistent focus on Jewish historical consciousness, with recurring themes including Marranism as a framework for understanding religious secrecy and identity negotiation, the politics of memory in post-Holocaust contexts, and the evolution of Jewish historiography. His work frequently bridges historical analysis with contemporary debates about secularism, religious pluralism, and the role of religion in civil society.
Professor Ehrenfreund has supervised doctoral research including Sarah Azzopardi-Ljubibratic's thesis on Jewish conversions in early modern Malta, and actively contributes to interdisciplinary scholarship through IHAR and the Interdisciplinary Center for Jewish Studies, where he examines the complex relationships between religious traditions, national identities, and political structures across historical periods.
