Hiking in the Upper Galilee, January 2007

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and Languages, and director of the Hebrew Language Program at Hofstra University. I teach courses in Hebrew language, Hebrew literature, and more broadly, comparative literature, with emphases on Jewish literature, Holocaust literature, humor studies, and narrative theory.

Sign for Mendele Mocher Sefarim [S. Y. Abramovitch] Street, Jerusalem

I was born and raised in the United States, but I lived in Israel for about seven years and am a naturalized citizen of Israel. During my time in Israel I milked cows on a kibbutz [a collective farm], waited tables and managed an Italian restaurant in Jerusalem, served in the military as an educator and administrator, completed my M.A. in comparative literature at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and traveled extensively. I later received my Ph.D. in comparative literature at Indiana University, where I developed my expertise in Holocaust literature, Hebrew literature, and humor studies. If you'd like more information, please see my curriculum vitae by clicking the button above.

Sign for Chaim Nachman Bialik Stree, Tel Aviv

Good question. I analyze literature and other cultural artifacts from different time periods and across different cultures to seek out similarities, differences, and patterns of influence.  I also use the insights of critical theory, narrative theory, and the wisdom of other disciplines in my work: history, philosophy, psychology, and sociology.

Sign for Ahad Ha'Am [Asher Ginsberg] Street

I've been designing courses and instructing college level students since 1999. I began teaching  composition as a Ph.D. student, and continued teaching courses in comparative and world literature, Holocaust literature, and popular culture, all while working towards my doctorate at Indiana University. After that, I taught for three years, first as an adjunct and later as an assistant professor, at The DigiPen Institute of Technology, an accredited, four-year, residential technical college just outside of Seattle. While there I created and taught courses on composition, mythology, narrative, creative writing, technology and culture, and video game theory. I began teaching at Hofstra University in Fall 2006. If you'd like to see some of my course syllabi, click here and scroll to the bottom.

Making new enemies on the Xbox 360

FAQ: Wait, you study all these really serious things, but you also study video games?

Yes, I know it sounds unusual, but there is a very good case to be made for thinking about literature and art in terms of play, and from that initial leap, it's not hard to think about video games as complicated works of literature and performance. Some video games are emergent forms of storytelling that can test the limits of current narrative theories. Some video games also test the limits of my endurance; I beat Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion only after 90+ hours of play.

In Jerusalem, January 2007

I'm currently working on utopian and dystopian literature that imagines "alternate Israels." I hope to offer a class on this at some point. In addition to my academic research, I am the translations editor for Zeek: A Jewish Journal of Thought and Culture, which appears online every month and biannually in print. My job is to seek out contemporary Hebrew writing, commission translations, and publish literary works each month from some of the best writers and translators around. Since January 2007, Zeek has published works by diverse voices in modern Hebrew literature, from founding figures to current critical and commercial favorites. For an up-to-the-minute list, please visit our journal.

Yes! I enjoy making my research accessible and interesting to general audiences. If you have a group that is looking for a speaker on topics such as Holocaust literature, Jewish humor, or Hebrew literature, please feel free to get in touch with me. I can also speak about early 20th century dirigible expeditions, but so far, no one's asked me to do so.