Kerstin Mayerhofer | University of Vienna (original) (raw)

Books by Kerstin Mayerhofer

Der systematische Erwerb von Kenntnissen im Umgang mit Quellen in jüdischen Sprachen ist im Wisse... more Der systematische Erwerb von Kenntnissen im Umgang mit Quellen in jüdischen Sprachen ist im Wissenschaftsbetrieb ein Desideratum. Das vorliegende Buch liefert hierzu eine praktische Einführung. Die ausgewählten handschriftlichen und gedruckten Quellen dokumentieren jüdische Geschichte von der Frühen Neuzeit bis ins 20. Jahrhundert in vier jüdischen Sprachen – Hebräisch, Jiddisch, Judendeutsch und Judenspanisch. Neben der jeweils als Faksimile wiedergegebenen Quelle werden eine Transkription und eine deutsche Übersetzung geboten. Das Buch ermöglicht nicht nur einen Einstieg in die Quellenkunde, insbesondere die Paläographie, sondern durch Kurzbeschreibungen der Texte auch einen Einblick in die Geschichte der Juden im Heiligen Römischen Reich und seinen Nachfolgestaaten.

Journal of Ancient Judaism. Supplements vol.1, 2010

Dieses Wörterbuch dient der Rekonstruktion einzelner Fragmente von Schriftrollen und Inschriften.... more Dieses Wörterbuch dient der Rekonstruktion einzelner Fragmente von Schriftrollen und Inschriften. Während der Arbeit mit unvollständig erhaltenen Quellen etwa aus Qumran stellt sich die Frage, wie verderbte Textstellen zu ergänzen sind. Ist von einem Wort nur der letzte Teil erhalten, kann es mit Hilfe der alphabetisch rückläufig angeordneten Lemmalisten ergänzt werden. Enthalten sind alle hebräischen und aramäischen Texte auf Schriftrollen und Inschriften aus Palästina bis 135 n.Chr. Im Anhang ist der ebenfalls rückläufig angeordnete Wortschatz der Elephantine-Papyri, einschließlich der Achikar-Sprüche, zu finden, die wegen ihres Herkunftsortes eine Ausnahme darstellen.
Im Anschluss an Karl Georg Kuhn, der 1958 als erster den hebräischen Wortschatz in rückläufiger Form zusammenstellte, aber nur einen kleinen Teil der Schriftrollen vom Toten Meer kannte, werden hier insbesondere die Veröffentlichungen der letzten 50 Jahre mit einbezogen.

Edited Books by Kerstin Mayerhofer

Baron Lectures. Studies on the Jewish Experience, vol. 1, 2022

Leading historians examine the meaning of being Jewish from early-modern times to the present day... more Leading historians examine the meaning of being Jewish from early-modern times to the present day.
Classification is an inherent feature of all societies. The distinction between Jews and non-Jews has been a major theme of Western society for over two millennia. In the middle of the twentieth century, dire consequences were associated with being Jewish. Even after the Shoah, the labelling of Jews as “other” continued. In this book, leading historians including Michael Brenner, Elisheva Carlebach and Michael Miller illuminate the meaning of Jewishness from pre-modern and early-modern times to the present day. Their studies offer new perspectives on constructing and experiencing Jewish identity.

An End to Antisemitism! Volume 4, 2021

This volume addresses the study of antisemitism from perspectives of the social sciences, includi... more This volume addresses the study of antisemitism from perspectives of the social sciences, including psychology, philosophy, and pedagogy. The contributions demonstrate the importance of a three-fold approach in investigating antisemitism: assessing the level of antisemitism by data collection, analyzing the collected data in order to discuss and understand the heterogeneous nature of antisemitism, and, finally, developing and implementing concrete measures to successfully combat it.

An End to Antisemitism! Volume 3, 2021

This volume traces the history of antisemitism from antiquity through contemporary manifestations... more This volume traces the history of antisemitism from antiquity through contemporary manifestations of the discrimination of Jews. It documents the religious, sociological, political and economic contexts in which antisemitism thrived and thrives and shows how such circumstances served as support and reinforcement for a curtailment of the Jews’ social status. The volume sheds light on historical processes of discrimination and identifies them as a key factor in the contemporary and future fight against antisemitism.

An End to Antisemitism! Volume 5, 2021

This volume documents the transformation of age-old antisemitic stereotypes into a new form of di... more This volume documents the transformation of age-old antisemitic stereotypes into a new form of discrimination, often called "New Antisemitism" or "Antisemitism 2.0." Manifestations of antisemitism in political, legal, media and other contexts are reflected on theoretically and contemporary developments are analyzed with a special focus on online hatred. The volume points to the need for a globally coordinated approach on the political and legal levels, as well as with regard to the modern media, to effectively combat modern antisemitism.

An End to Antisemitism! Volume 2, 2020

This volume engages with antisemitic stereotypes as religious symbols that express and transmit a... more This volume engages with antisemitic stereotypes as religious symbols that express and transmit a belief system of Jew-hatred. These religious symbols are stored in Christian, Muslim and even today’s secular cultural and religious memories. This volume explores how antisemitic religious symbol systems can play a key role in the construction of group identities.

An End to Antisemitism! Volume 1, 2019

This volume provides a compendium of the history of and discourse about antisemitism-both as a un... more This volume provides a compendium of the history of and discourse about antisemitism-both as a unique cultural and religious category. Antisemitic stereotypes function as religious symbols that express and transmit a belief system of Jew-hatred, which are stored in the cultural and religious memories of the Western and Muslim worlds, migrating freely between Christian, Muslim and other religious symbolic systems.

Articles by Kerstin Mayerhofer

Jahrbuch für Antisemitismusforschung 31, 2022

Constructing and Experiencing Jewish Identity, 2022

In this article, I follow Salo W. Baron’s notion of antisemitism derived from “dislike of the unl... more In this article, I follow Salo W. Baron’s notion of antisemitism derived from “dislike of the unlike” and explore constructions of Jewish identity and alterity in Christian exempla stories. Catholic clerical circles created exempla stories for insertion into the daily preaching in a time of theological instability. These stories fostered images of the Jews as inherently different from a good Catholic: erroneous in their belief, antisocial in their behaviour and deformed in their outward appearance. Exempla collections from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries include tales of Jewish ritual murders, of their supernatural practices surrounding festivals like Purim and Passover, of host desecration as well as of Jewish conversions to Christianity upon miraculous encounters with figures like the virgin Mary. In most of these stories, the image of blood plays an important role. Blood serves as an active force, revealing secrets and demonstrating religious power but also hinting at sin and shame. I investigate the figure of the so-called ‘men-struating Jew’ that symbolises notions of Jewish identity intersecting with constructions of femaleness and femininity within Christian religious and cultural thinking. Closely reading one tale from the famous thirteenth century Dialogue on Miracles, I demonstrate that exempla stories featuring genderqueer and cruel Jews supported a change in society and fostered notions of a general Jewish enmity towards Christianity. They transmitted antisemitic motifs, themes and narratives and reinforced images of Jewish ‘unlikeness’ to justify their dislike of Jews from the early modern until contemporary times.

Constructing and Experiencing Jewish Identity, 2022

An End to Antisemititsm! vol. 4, 2021

The present,fourth volume of An End to Antisemitism! combines articles that address the studyofa ... more The present,fourth volume of An End to Antisemitism! combines articles that address the studyofa ntisemitism from perspectiveso ft he social sciences,i ncluding psychology, philosophy, and pedagogy. The contributions to this final volume of the proceedings series essentiallym irror the general approach to combating antisemitism that is suggested by the whole five-volume series An End to Antisemitism! One of the series' main arguments is that successful strategies to fight antisemitism must be based on at horough scholarlya nd scientific analysis of Jew-hatred. Such an analysis begins with the assessment not onlyo ft he level of antisemitism in ag iven population and time but alsob yi dentifying which forms of Jew-hatred wereo ra re more prominent thano thers. Thisa ssessment is followed by an interdisciplinary theoretical reflection of antisemitisma nd by an analysis of the assessed data. Such theoretical reflection must be the basis for the development of successful strategies to combat antisemitism. This first part is followed by articles dedicatedtothe theoretical reflection of antisemitism on philosophical, sociological, and psychological levels. Historical and religious perspectiveshavebeen discussed in previous volumes.¹ The results of these theoretical contributions point the wayt ot heir implementation in the form of pedagogical studies and as examples of best practices. Assessmento fA ntisemitism Assessment of the level of antisemitism has been established as one of the key prerequisites to successfullyf ight it-bothi nv olume 1o ft he present series as well as in the respective official catalogue of measures for combatingantisemitism.² Onlyanin-depth understanding of the level and nature of antisemitism in

An End to Antisemitism, vol. 3, 2021

Kerstin Mayerhofer engages with the role of cultural narratives in the process of formation of id... more Kerstin Mayerhofer engages with the role of cultural narratives in the process of formation of identity. She scrutinises the discourse of embodied inferiority and uses the example of the motif of Jewish “male menstruation” for her reflections on Inferiority Embodied: The “Men-struating” Jew and Pre-modern Notions of Identity and Difference. Based on the concept of racism and race as grounded in a proclaimed hierarchy of one group of people over another, Mayerhofer presents the “men-struating” Jew as one motif in a canon of imagery surrounding the “Jewish body,” which, in turn, reflects back on pre-modern understandings of sex, gender, and, ultimately, race. In the example of the “men-struating” Jew, that is, the figure of a Jewish man afflicted with a regular flow of blood from his body, pre-modern Christian notions of difference and inferiority are reflected both on a cultural and on a “scientific” level. The example shows that premodern formation of identity is not solely based in culture or religion. Corporeal aspects, too, “served the construction as categories [of identity],” however, they were always “deeply connected with faith” (156). In presenting three sources from the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries from a clerical, medical, and legal background, Mayerhofer uncovers the mechanisms that lie at the core of the establishment of the theme of an aberrant and inferior “Jewish body”: universalisation, naturalisation, and normalisation. These mechanisms linked, first theologically, to mark all generations of Jews as responsible and guilty for the death of Jesus Christ, secondly, and “scientifically,” to embody this hereditary guilt in images using somatic markers of distortedness conveying inferiority, and, finally, to “normalise and institutionalise the socio-political and socioeconomic marginalisation and discrimination” (153) of the Jews.

An End to Antisemitism, vol.3, 2021

'sd efinition of antisemitism as the "longest hatred"¹ carries as much weight now as it did thirt... more 'sd efinition of antisemitism as the "longest hatred"¹ carries as much weight now as it did thirty years ago, when Wistrich published his landmark study. Today, in our contemporary societies and culture, antisemitism is on the rise, and its manifestations are manifold. Antisemitic hate crimes have spiked in recent decades, and antisemitic stereotypes, sentiments, and hate speech have permeated all parts of the political spectrum. In order to effectively counteract the ever-growingJew-hatred of our times, it is important to recognise the traditions thath avef ed antisemitism throughout history.A ntisemitism is an age-old hatredd eeplye mbeddedi ns ocieties around the globe. While the internet and modern media have contributed beyond measure to the increase of Jewhatred in all parts of the world, the transformation processes thata ntisemitism has been undergoing through the ages remain the same. Acorecondition of antisemitism is its versatile nature and adaptability,b oth of which can be traced through all periods of time. Current-day antisemitism is shaped and sustained not onlyb yp owerful precedents but also reflects common fears and anxieties that our societies are faced with in aw orld that is ever changinga nd where the changes run even faster todayt hane verb efore. Historical awareness of the nature of antisemitism, therefore, is more important than ever.The present volume, thus, wantst oh elp raise this awareness.I ts articles tracet he history of antisemitisma nd the tradition of antisemitic stereotypes through the ages. It documents various manifestations of antisemitism over time and reflects on the varyingm otivations for antisemitism.A ss uch, these contributions shed light on socio-culturala nd socio-psychological processes that have led to the spike of antisemitism in various periods of time and in varyingi ntensity.I n this way, they can help to establish methods and policies to not onlyt ocounter current antisemitic manifestations but also to combat them. Terminologya nd Historiographical Delineation The usageo ft he term antisemitism is much debated in historical scholarship. Various scholars claim thatt he term reflectsac onceptualisation of Judaism as

An End to Antisemitism, vol. 5, 2021

Today'sever-increasingantisemitism confronts politicians, legislators, and other decision makers ... more Today'sever-increasingantisemitism confronts politicians, legislators, and other decision makers with unique challenges. The ADL Global 100 survey,w hich began in 2014,h as shown thata round twenty-six percent of the inhabitants of all surveyed countries harbor antisemitic attitudes in avariety of forms, from politicallyi nfluenced anti-Israel sentimentst oopenlyexpressed Jew-hatred. It has also documented thata ntisemitic sentiments are on the rise in all countries of the world in which surveys have been conducted between 2014 and 2019.This means that at otal of more thano ne billionp eople around the globe from any side of the political spectrum foster negative attitudes against Jews as individuals, Jews as ac ommunity,t he State of Israel, or Zionist movements.¹ This increased number of antisemitic views and antisemitic behavior that manifests itself in hate speech and hate crimes directed against Jews all over the world cannot be ignored. Jews and non-Jews alike are faced with new formsofantisemitism thatd emand the attention of all human beingsm ore thane ver. To understand the transformation of antisemitism and its various manifestations in the modernw orld, one needst od eal with as et of questions. We need to ask ourselves: What are the reasons for the shockingand seemingly surprising explosion of Jew-hatred?I nw hich parts of our societies do we encounter antisemitism today? Whatrole do the internet and modern media play? How can antisemitism be combatted effectively,b oth on an ational and international scale? Are there countries,c ultures,a nd religions that are particularlyp rone to Jew-hatred? If so, how and whyd ot heir views regarding Jews and Judaism differ from those of other communities?H ow can Jews, Jewish communities,a nd Jewish institutions be protected?The answers to these and otherquestions will help to address what can onlyb ed escribed as one of the humanitarian crises of our times. With the exceptions of the State of Israel as well as Jewishorganizations and communities outside of Israel, decisions makers worldwide wereoften and largely reluctant to properlyacknowledge the explosion of Jew-hatred. Formore than ad ecade, little to nothing has been done to address,d iscuss, and counter it. Onlyinrecent years did some transnationalorganizations and statesbegin to address the issue of rising antisemitic beliefs and manifestations. Others still ignore it,are ambivalent to Jew-hatred, openlysupport antisemitism, or employ antise- Cf. ADL Global 100,a ccessed July 13,2 020, https://global100.adl.org/.

An End to Antisemitism, vol. 2, 2020

,p ublished by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative CommonsA ttribution-NonCommer... more ,p ublished by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative CommonsA ttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Judaica Olomucensia 2015, 1/Special Issue: Jewish Printing Culture between Brno, Prague and Vienna in the Era of Modernization, 1750–1850, 2015

This article provides a short summary on the editing and publishing work of the Prague-based edit... more This article provides a short summary on the editing and publishing work of the Prague-based editor and publisher Wolf Pascheles (1814–1857). He is mostly famous for his Sippurim, which have been widely covered within the academic world. However, the women’s literature and the popularization works printed by Pascheles are hardly reflected in scholarly literature. The article aims to shed some light on Pascheles’ treasure box of Jewish knowledge alongside his Sippurim and the purpose Pascheles followed with publishing the works in it.

Judaica Olomoucensia 2014, 1–2, 2014

The Slavonic Apocalypse of Abraham (ApcAbr) is a pseudepigraphical apocalyptic text from the 1st ... more The Slavonic Apocalypse of Abraham (ApcAbr) is a pseudepigraphical apocalyptic text from the 1st or 2nd century C.E. It offers an interesting insight into the history of the people of Israel of that time and a unique approach to the events surrounding the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. The destruction of the Temple marked a significant watershed which brought a great cultic and socioeconomic crisis for the people of that time. In ApcAbr, this crucial topic is closely connected to the motif of idolatry allegorically representing any human misconduct. The destruction of the Temple functions both as an ultimate punishment for sinful behavior and a warning for the people to adhere to the author’s call to repentance and return to true faith.

Judaica Olomucensia 2013, 1: Qolot Hadashim – New Voices in Jewish Studies, 2013

The Book of Qohelet deals with questions and problems of human life and the search for meaning in... more The Book of Qohelet deals with questions and problems of human life and the search for meaning in human existence. The fictional author Qohelet makes observations on the human condition, its efforts and ultimate rewards. The bottom line of his observations-hakol hevel-forms the leitmotif of the book and works as a framework for Qohelet's reflections. The conclusions which Qohelet draws from his reflections parallel the concept of 'the absurd in the human condition' of the post-existentialist philosophy of Albert Camus, first introduced in a collection of essays entitled The Myth of Sisyphus in 1942. The main purpose of this paper is to outline interesting parallels between Qohelet's leitmotif and Camus' notion of absurdity which proves to have an identical Sitz im Leben.

Journal of Ancient Judaism. Supplements vol.1, 2010

Baron Lectures. Studies on the Jewish Experience, vol. 1, 2022

An End to Antisemitism! Volume 4, 2021

An End to Antisemitism! Volume 3, 2021

An End to Antisemitism! Volume 5, 2021

An End to Antisemitism! Volume 2, 2020

An End to Antisemitism! Volume 1, 2019

Jahrbuch für Antisemitismusforschung 31, 2022

Constructing and Experiencing Jewish Identity, 2022

An End to Antisemititsm! vol. 4, 2021

An End to Antisemitism, vol. 3, 2021

An End to Antisemitism, vol.3, 2021

An End to Antisemitism, vol. 5, 2021

An End to Antisemitism, vol. 2, 2020

Judaica Olomucensia 2015, 1/Special Issue: Jewish Printing Culture between Brno, Prague and Vienna in the Era of Modernization, 1750–1850, 2015

Judaica Olomoucensia 2014, 1–2, 2014

Judaica Olomucensia 2013, 1: Qolot Hadashim – New Voices in Jewish Studies, 2013

The thesis investigates Jewish ‘male menstruation,’ a motif of medieval Christian antisemitic pol... more The thesis investigates Jewish ‘male menstruation,’ a motif of medieval Christian antisemitic polemic that claimed Jewish men to bleed regularly, like women. Representations of bleeding Jewish males are found in Christian writing from the end of the twelfth century to the late seventeenth century. The idea is less cited, but crosses genres from pastoral writing to medical lore and hagiography, and is always highly charged. The figure of the ‘men-struating’ Jew transports themes of identity and Otherness, transgression and aberrance. The thesis brings together more than thirty relevant sources to trace the roots and evolution of Jewish ‘male menstruation’ in the Middle Ages. Adding to a scholarly discussion of the motif that started in the 1990s, but never brought convenient answers, the present thesis highlights the importance of gender in notions of difference that, alongside religion and biology, substantiated images of the bleeding Jewish male. It is influenced by contemporary Gender and Queer studies, as well as by Critical race theory and Critical menstruation studies. These approaches enrich our understanding of medieval thought and knowledge production considerably. To date, no other study has exclusively and comprehensively investigated the evolution of the notion of Jewish ‘male menstruation’ during the Middle Ages, and its transmission through the centuries—this thesis aims to do so. The discursive history of Jewish ‘male menstruation’ is presented in five chapters. Chapter 1 considers bleeding bodies as a representation of a broader notion of breaking of both individual and communal boundaries, that was fundamental for the fashioning of the motif of Jewish ‘male menstruation.’ Chapter 2 discusses the motif’s first appearances in narrative frames of sermons and exempla stories from the thirteenth century. The medieval medical discourse that took Jewish ‘male menstruation’ into consideration during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is the focus of Chapter 3. Chapter 4 treats the motif as an increasing representation of Christian anxieties about Jews as a threat to Christian superiority, communal well-being, and to the divinely established social order. How the motif continued to be used to navigate individual and communal questions of identity is documented in Chapter 5 that traces the ‘men-struating’ Jew’s legacy in the early modern times.

Magistra der Philosophie (Mag.phil.) Wien, April 2012 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 243 361... more Magistra der Philosophie (Mag.phil.) Wien, April 2012 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 243 361 Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt: Diplomstudium Slawistik / Russisch Betreuer: o. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Heinz Miklas 3 DANKSAGUNG An dieser Stelle möchte ich einigen Menschen meinen Dank aussprechen, ohne deren Hilfe und Unterstützung die Fertigstellung dieser Arbeit nicht möglich gewesen wäre oder sich wesentlich verzögert hätte. Mein Dank gilt zu allererst Univ.-Prof. Dr. Heinz Miklas. Er hat sich schon sehr früh dazu bereit erklärt, dieses Diplomarbeitsprojekt zu betreuen, mir bei der Wahl des Themas freie Hand gelassen und mich bei der Erstellung eines Arbeitskonzeptes tatkräftig unterstützt. Auch während des Verfassens der Arbeit konnte ich mich bei allen Fragen, Problemen oder Hindernissen an ihn wenden und habe stets rasch und ausführlich Antworten und Lösungsvorschläge erhalten. Weiters danken möchte ich Herrn Prof. Miklas auch dafür, dass er in der Endphase der Arbeit diese schließlich im Eiltempo gegengelesen und korrigiert hat. Danken möchte ich auch Univ.-Prof. Dr. Johannes Reinhart, der mich auf ein Gros der Literatur zur slavischen Abrahamsapokalypse hingewiesen hat, sowie Univ.-Prof. Dr. Armin Lange, der mich ebenfalls bei der Konkretisierung des Arbeitsthemas und Erstellung eines Arbeitskonzepts unterstützt hat. Ein großer Dank gilt meiner guten Freundin Anna Maria Fabian, die trotz Prüfungs-und Übersiedelungsstress das Lektorat der deutschen Textteile übernommen und viel Zeit darin investiert hat. Auch bei Dima Schaminer möchte ich mich ganz herzlich bedanken. Er hat mich mit viel Geduld und enormer Gewissenhaftigkeit bei der Erstellung der russischen Zusammenfassung unterstützt. Auch die Korrektur der rekonstruierten hebräischen Idiome hat Dima Schaminer übernommen, wofür ich ihm sehr dankbar bin. Bei Mag. Christoph Kainz bedanke ich mich für das abschließende Gegenlesen des Textes der russischen Zusammenfassung. Auch allen meinen anderen Freunden und Verwandten, insbesondere aber Alexandra Julia Wanka und Mag. Magdalena Baran, möchte ich für ihre endlose Geduld, grenzenlose Unterstützung und fortwährende Motivation danken, die sie während der Abfassung dieser Diplomarbeit für mich aufbringen mussten. Meine letzten und vielleicht wichtigsten Dankesworte gelten meinen Eltern. Sie haben mir schon in früher Kindheit den Wert von Bildung vermittelt und die Grundlage für mein heutiges Interesse an Literatur, Sprache und Kultur geliefert. Außerdem haben sie mir nicht nur dieses Studium ermöglicht, sondern mich auch in all meinen Entscheidungen unterstützt, ganz gleich, ob sie sie gut geheißen haben oder nicht. Dafür möchte ich ihnen von ganzem Herzen danken. 5

Snakes and their bleeding bites were of concern for many medieval folk, both Jewish and Christian... more Snakes and their bleeding bites were of concern for many medieval folk, both Jewish and Christian. Inherently related to fertility and sexuality, literary and visual representations of the serpent often reflected anxieties about the power of menstrual blood: in the Garden Eden, an encounter with a serpent initiated human sin, punishment, and menstruation; Rabbis told stories of amorous snakes that could be scared away by a proclamation of one’s menstrual status; snake-bites that drew blood from one’s body were feared and discussed enthusiastically in medical textbooks where they also often related to other flows of blood stemming from haemorrhoids or menstruation.
Finally, the late Middle Ages had established a close relation of both the menstruant and the serpent as venomous, inherently dangerous and even life-threatening. Fears of blood-sucking or poisoning entailed snakes and menstruants likewise. In a most artful yet perfidious way, Christian discourse projected the same fears onto its self-proclaimed greatest enemies: the Jews. For centuries, Jews (foremost Jewish men) were accused of being afflicted with blood flows that sometimes resembled haemorrhoidal bleeding but were largely understood as menstrual. The bleeding was thought to reflect the Jews’ alleged sinful character that traced back to the time of the Crucifixion. Late-medieval depictions of bleeding Jewish men associated them with the purportedly dangerous menstruating woman, with leprosy as the “serpent disease,” and with snakes that could suck one’s blood and life.
In this paper, I trace the discursive history of the blood-sucking snake, in association with the menstruating woman, and of the bleeding Jew. I demonstrate how late-medieval images of the serpent transmit notions of sexism and antisemitism as closely entangled. I argue that descriptions of Jews as regularly bleeding and therefore as outcast, dangerous, and threatening take their power from the manifest reality of (menstrual) blood.

Jüdische Männer würden, genau wie Frauen, »menstruieren« – davon berichtet ein Kanon von vormoder... more Jüdische Männer würden, genau wie Frauen, »menstruieren« – davon berichtet ein Kanon von vormodernen christlichen Quellen. Sie kreieren ein Bild von jüdischer Identität, in dem sich Vorstellungen von religiöser, sozialer und körperlicher Minderwertigkeit verschränken. Der Vortrag zeichnet die Geschichte dieses unbekannten antisemitischen Motivs nach.

Paper presented at The Second Doctoral Colloquium Cambridge/QMUL, February 7, 2020 - St. Catherin... more Paper presented at The Second Doctoral Colloquium Cambridge/QMUL, February 7, 2020 - St. Catherine's College, Cambridge

This view of bleeding Jewish men as 'men-struating' is important for it discloses a discourse of ... more This view of bleeding Jewish men as 'men-struating' is important for it discloses a discourse of inferiority in which contemporary notions of religious, gendered, sexual, and, finally, racial Otherness intersect. The 'men-struating' Jew challenged the hegemonic model of masculinity, and so invited invisibility and stigmatisation. He was a product of angst by those who sought to set the norms for collective existence.

science.orf.at, 2022

Jüdische Männer menstruieren: Das behauptet ein Kanon von christlichen Quellen ab dem 12. Jahrhun... more Jüdische Männer menstruieren: Das behauptet ein Kanon von christlichen Quellen ab dem 12. Jahrhundert. Die Blutung wird darin als Sinnbild für die religiöse und soziale Minderwertigkeit der Juden verstanden. In einem Gastbeitrag zeichnet die Judaistin Kerstin Mayerhofer die Geschichte dieses weitgehend unbekannten antisemitischen Motivs nach.

https://science.orf.at/stories/3210798

DIALOG-DU SIACH, Jul 31, 2022

In ihrem 2021 erschienenen Buch Jude ist kein Schimpfwort berichtet die Journalistin und Autorin ... more In ihrem 2021 erschienenen Buch Jude ist kein Schimpfwort berichtet die Journalistin und Autorin Alexia Weiss vom Dialog zwischen Jüd:innen und Nicht-Jüd:innen in Österreich. Dieser Dialog ist oft gespickt mit Vorannahmen, Vorurteilen und oftmals geprägt von Unverständnis. Und von einer Menge von Nicht-Wissen darüber, was es bedeutet Jüd:in zu sein und jüdisch in Österreich zu leben.