Maya Barzilai

Maya Barzilai is Professor of Modern Hebrew and Jewish Culture at the University of Michigan, with primary appointments at the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies and the Department of Middle East Studies. She also maintains affiliations with Comparative Literature and Germanic Languages and Literatures. Her academic career spans teaching and research in multiple disciplines focusing on Jewish cultural production across linguistic boundaries.

Her educational background includes a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley (2009) and an M.A. in Comparative Literature from Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2002). These foundations have shaped her interdisciplinary approach to studying Jewish cultural production.

Barzilai's research centers on twentieth-century Hebrew, German, and Yiddish literature and cinema, with particular emphasis on cultural exchange through translation and adaptation. She explores German-Hebrew translation discourse and practice, demonstrating how literary translators engaged scriptural translation models while negotiating Jewish national culture. Her work extends to Weimar cinema, Israeli visual culture, and post-war poetics, creating a rich tapestry of comparative cultural analysis that bridges linguistic and national boundaries.

Analysis of her scholarly publications reveals consistent engagement with themes of translation, cultural memory, and the intersection of Jewish identity with broader European and Middle Eastern contexts. Her work demonstrates particular strength in analyzing how literary and cinematic texts navigate the complex relationships between Hebrew, German, and Yiddish cultural spheres, with special attention to how translation functions as both cultural practice and theoretical concept.

Her scholarly recognition includes:

• 2017 Jordan Schnitzer Book Prize in the category of Jewish Literature and Linguistics for Golem: Modern Wars and Their Monsters
• Honorable Mention for the Salo Baron AAJR First Book Prize

While specific grant information isn't detailed in the provided materials, her award-winning publications suggest successful research funding. Barzilai teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses including 'Screening Jewish Cultures,' 'The Jewish Graphic Novel,' and 'Comics and Conflict: Reframing the Middle East' at the undergraduate level, and 'The Task of the Self-Translator' and 'Sacred Languages, Secular Translations' at the graduate level, demonstrating her commitment to mentoring across academic levels.

Though specific laboratory information isn't provided in the materials, her work appears to be conducted within the intellectual communities of the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies and the Department of Middle East Studies, where she contributes to interdisciplinary conversations about Jewish cultural production across linguistic and national boundaries.