Welcome to Adam Shear’s home page:

I teach Jewish history in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. I am also one of the core faculty members in the Jewish Studies Program.

My particular research focus is the role that reading medieval Jewish texts had in the shaping of Jewish cultural, intellectual, and religious identity in early modern Europe. Specifically, I have for many years been studying the reception of Judah Halevi’s Sefer ha-Kuzari in early modern Europe. I teach, have taught, or will teach courses to undergraduates and graduates on medieval, early modern, and modern Jewish intellectual and social history; on Jewish-Christian relations; on Jewish culture in medieval Spain; on Jewish historiography (the writing of Jewish history); on the history of Jewish identity; and on the relationship between the history of the book and reading and the history of religion.

Some day, when I have better web skills, I will have a better home page.

In the meantime, you can read about my education, my teaching, and my research by perusing my curriculum vitae.

[Web pages of friends with more interesting home pages: Jordan Ellenberg, Jay Michaelson]

I do my research now mostly in Pittsburgh libraries. The strongest collection of Judaica is at Pitt’s Hillman Library, with some material in the Gumberg Library at Duquesne University and the library of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. To a lesser extent, material can also be found at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the Hunt Library of Carnegie-Mellon University.

Most of the major periodicals in Jewish studies can be found in Pittsburgh. You just have to know where to look. Here’s a start: My handlist of periodical locations.

Students: Access to current courses can be found at the University of Pittsburgh’s Courseweb site.

For additional resources, some useful links, and important information go to my teaching page.

Useful stuff for me (and possibly you):

Checking e-mail off campus: http://webmail.upb.pitt.edu/index.php3?HordeSession=40ee1cb9a656b13399be8242627fc573

Pittcat: http://pittcat.pitt.edu/

New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: http://post-gazette.com/

Some frivolity: the results of my google searches for other Adam Shears.

My e-mail if you want to get in touch with me: ashear@pitt.edu.