Ruth von Bernuth

Ruth von Bernuth is a Professor of German Education specializing in German and Yiddish literature and culture from the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries, with particular expertise in sixteenth-century texts, Jewish carnivalesque traditions, and Yiddish biblical adaptations.

Her educational background includes a PhD in Medieval and Early Modern German Literature from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

Dr. von Bernuth's research centers on natural folly in early modern German literature, Jewish folk narratives (especially the Chelm tales), and the transmission of biblical literature in Yiddish. She examines how cultural constructs of mental disability evolved from medieval marvels to modern clinical frameworks, while exploring the intersection of Jewish humor and religious identity in pre-modern Europe.

Her publications reveal consistent thematic threads: the adaptation of religious texts in Yiddish vernacular, the evolution of Jewish folk traditions across Eastern Europe, and the literary representation of folly as social commentary. Key methodological approaches include manuscript analysis, comparative folklore studies, and cultural history frameworks.

Scientific recognition includes:

• Yad Hanadiv Visiting Fellowship in Jewish Studies (Rothschild Foundation, Israel) (2012-13)
• Vivian Lefsky Hort Memorial Fellowship (YIVO Institute for Jewish Research) (2012-13)
• Alfried Krupp Junior Fellowship (Wisssenschaftskolleg in Greifswald, Germany) (2013)
• Mercator Fellow of the Research Training Group 'Religious Knowledge in Pre-modern Europe' at the University of Tübingen (2017-present)

While specific advising details are unreported, her fellowships indicate substantial research leadership. She contributes to the University of Tübingen's Research Training Group on pre-modern religious knowledge systems and teaches courses including JWST 297: Yiddish Literature and the Bible and GERM/RELI 227: Luther and the Bible.

Her current academic engagement includes directing editorial projects on Jewish material culture and examining Yiddish Bible translations within their historical contexts.