Marzena Zawanowska

Marzena Zawanowska is an Adjunct at the Mordechai Anielewicz Center, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Warsaw, where she also earned her PhD and habilitation. She has previously been affiliated with the Department of Jewish Culture and History at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University and the Department of Hebraistics at the University of Warsaw. She additionally serves as a curator of the manuscript collection at the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute, contributing to the preservation and study of Jewish cultural heritage.

• PhD, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Warsaw (in collaboration with Tel Aviv University)
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Tel Aviv University
• Habilitation, 2019, on Karaism and Jewish biblical exegesis in Arabic

Her research centers on medieval Jewish intellectual history, with a focus on Karaite biblical exegesis in Judeo-Arabic, the conceptualization of the Hebrew language among medieval Karaites, and the interplay between Jewish and Islamic thought. She explores how medieval Karaites engaged with Arabic linguistic and philosophical traditions while maintaining their theological distinctiveness, particularly in areas such as historical consciousness, translation practices, and the interpretation of key biblical narratives like the Tower of Babel and the Book of Job.

Her recent scholarly articles (2021–2025) reveal a consistent focus on the historical, linguistic, and theological dimensions of Karaite thought. Themes include the construction of religious identity, the influence of Islamic hermeneutics on Jewish exegesis, and the reconstruction of fragmentary manuscripts from the Cairo Genizah. Her work frequently appears in leading journals such as History of Religions, Jewish Quarterly Review, and Journal of Semitic Studies, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach that bridges religious studies, linguistics, and medieval history.

Marzena Zawanowska has contributed to several collaborative scholarly projects and edited volumes, including co-editing Strangers in the Land: Traveling Texts, Imagined Others, and Captured Souls (2024) and participating in studies on King David’s reception across monotheistic traditions. Her editorial and translation work on Hebrew poetry, particularly that of Chaim Nachman Bialik, further demonstrates her broad engagement with Jewish literary and cultural history.

She has no listed scientific awards in the provided texts. However, her extensive publication record, international collaborations, and institutional affiliations underscore her active and influential role in the field.

She advises no students listed in the sources but has co-authored works with scholars such as Meira Polliack, Miriam L. Hjälm, and Michael G. Wechsler. She is involved in manuscript curation and interdisciplinary research projects focusing on interfaith textual traditions and the transmission of biblical texts in Arabic among Jews, Christians, and Muslims.