Dr. Shamma Boyarin
Position
Contact
Credentials
BA (Berkeley), PhD (Berkeley)
Area of expertise
Medieval Hebrew and Arabic literature; the Bible and literature
Shamma Boyarin has taught at the University of Victoria since 2008 (in Religious Studies and Medieval Studies), and in the in English Department since 2009.
Dr. Boyarin received his doctorate in Comparative Literature (Arabic, Hebrew, English) from the University of California, Berkeley in 2008, where he also taught Hebrew language courses for a number of years. His current research and teaching interests include: medieval literature (particularly the literature of Spain and the Near East), comparative literature (particularly Hebrew and Arabic), literature and religion, Jewish Studies, and the religious roots of antisemitism. He has additional expertise in the connections between medieval and contemporary popular culture, especially as they manifest in Heavy Metal music and white supremacist ideologies. He has organized and co-organized several conferences on Metal Studies at UVic.
Selected publications
“The New Metal Medievalism: Alexander the Great, Islamic historiography and Nile's ‘Iskander Dhul Kharnon’" Medievalism and Metal Music Studies: Throwing Down the Gauntlet, Ruth Barratt-Peacock and Ross Hagen eds., Emerald Press, 81-92, 2019.
“’The Threefold Cord’: On Hebrew and Arabic in the Work and Identity of Judah al-Harizi,” The Study of al-Andalus The Scholarship and Legacy of James T. Monroe, Michelle M. Hamilton David A. Wacks eds., Harvard UP, 140-159, 2018.
“‘Changing the Order of Creation’: The Toldot Ben Sira Disrupts the Medieval Hebrew Canon,” Talmudic Transgressions: Engaging the Work of Daniel Boyarin, ed. Charlotte E. Fronrobert, et al. Brill, 336-349, 2017.
“Hebrew Alexander Romances and Astrological Questions: Alexander, Aristotle, and the Medieval Jewish Audience,” Alexander the Great in the Middle Ages: Transcultural Perspectives, ed. Markus Stock, Toronto University Press, 88-103, 2016.
“The Contexts of the Hebrew Secret of Secrets,” Volume Collectif Sur Le Secret Des Secrets : Réceptions européennes du Secret des secrets (XIIIe-XVIe siècles), eds. M. Bridges, C. Gaullier-Bougassas and J.-Y. Tilliette, Brepols, 451-472, 2015.