معرفی
Rafael Neis is an Associate Professor jointly appointed in the Department of History and the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan since 2007. They hold degrees from the London School of Economics (1995), Boston University (2002), and Harvard University (2007), with additional training in philosophy, Jewish sources, and art. Their research focuses on Jewish cultures in late antiquity (1st–7th centuries CE), exploring intersections of law, materiality, religious identity, and sensory experience. Current projects include a second book on rabbinic conceptions of species reproduction and a Jean and Samuel Frankel Chair in Rabbinic Culture.
Research interests emphasize the body, senses, ritual, and legal frameworks within late antique Jewish contexts. They analyze rabbinic texts alongside Greco-Roman, Persian-Zoroastrian, and Christian sources, highlighting cultural hybridity. Courses cover ancient law, Jewish art, Rabbinic literature, and Jewish sexualities. Neis’s work bridges disciplines like religious studies, legal theory, and material culture, challenging narrow definitions of Jewish cultural boundaries.
Recent publications investigate rabbinic views on vision, reproduction, interspecies relations, and ritual practices. Their first book, The Sense of Sight in Rabbinic Culture, examines how rabbis navigated visual dangers/pleasures in late antiquity. Current projects extend into reproductive ethics and cross-species thought. No specific awards or grants are listed, but their interdisciplinary approach underscores innovative methodological frameworks.
No lab affiliations or teams are explicitly mentioned beyond academic appointments. Teaching and research emphasize textual analysis paired with broader cultural and sensory histories.
