Saturday, July 10, 2010

The Sephardic Frontier: The Reconquista and the Jewish Community in Medieval Iberia

When Jonathan Ray looks at history, he’s not looking for easy answers. In his efforts to piece together the daily lives and identities of medieval Jews living in Christian and Muslim territories, he’s found that “the norm is something a little bit messier, [a little bit] more complex” than many might imagine.

Ray is the Samuel Eig Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies in the Theology Department at Georgetown. His latest book, The Sephardic Frontier: The Reconquista and the Jewish Community in Medieval Iberia, recently received the prestigious John Nichols Brown Prize from the Medieval Academy of America, presented annually for the best first book on any topic in Medieval Studies. The prize committee applauded "Ray's exceptional book” and its interdisciplinary approach that “brings an entirely new dimension that will encourage future researchers to look beyond accepted models.” They continue, “It is a book that many medievalists, whether Iberianists or not, will want to know and share, as a model, with their students."

Click here to read the full article from Georgetown University