• Nathan Brown            Middle Eastern Politics
• Eric Cline                    Ancient Jewish History
• Paul Duff                  Hebrew Bible
• Robert Eisen             Jewish Thought
• Barry Freundel            Rabbinic Judaism
• Steven Glazer           Jewish Ethics,           American Judaism
• Severin Hochberg      Origins of Antisemetism, Holocaust
• Edwin Hostetter       Hebrew Bible
• Gilah Langner            Religion
• Shoshana Marcus Hebrew Language
• Faye Moskowitz      Jewish American Literature
• Yaron Peleg              Hebrew Literature and Language
• Linda Raphael          Modern Jewish Literature
• Bernard Reich         Modern Israel
• Walter Reich          International Affairs
• Daniel Schwartz          Modern Jewish History
• Lauren B. Strauss     American Jewish History
• Max Ticktin             Hebrew and Yiddish Language and Literature
• Jenna Weissman Joselit American Jewish History

Professor of Religion and Judaic Studies
(202) 994-4780 | 2142 G Street, 203 | eisen@gwu.edu

B.A., Yale University; Ph.D., Brandeis University

 

Robert Eisen is Professor of Religion and Director of the Judaic Studies Program at George Washington University in Washington D.C. He received his B.A. at Yale University in 1983, and his Ph.D. in Jewish thought at Brandeis University in 1990. His areas of interest include medieval and modern Jewish philosophy, biblical interpretation, religious ethics, and comparative religion. He is author of three books, Gersonides on Providence, Covenant, and the Chosen People (State University of New York Press, 1995); The Book of Job in Medieval Jewish Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 2004); and The Peace and Violence of Judaism (Oxford University Press,          forthcoming 2010). He has also co-edited two volumes: Philosophers and the Jewish Bible (University of Maryland Press, 2008) with Charles Manekin, and Just Peacemaking in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Pilgrim Press, forthcoming) with Glen Stassen and Susan Thistlethwaite. Professor Eisen has also received a number of grants and awards to support his research, including a Fulbright research grant at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1999-2000. He was also given a teaching award in 2005 from George Washington University in recognition of his contributions in the classroom.

Professor Eisen has also been active in adult education initiatives. He served from 1991-2008 on the Board of Directors for the Foundation for Jewish Studies which brings lecturers to Washington from academic institutions all over the world. He has also lectured and taught widely in the Jewish and non-Jewish communities in Washington and elsewhere.

Professor Eisen is also active as a consultant on issues of religion and international conflict with a particular interest in fostering better relations between the West and the Islamic world. He has participated in a number of high-level dialogues and consultations in Washington and abroad concerning this issue. He is a member of the C-1 Committee, an organization of Muslim and Christian leaders that grew out of the World Economic Forum and is devoted to improving relations between Muslims and Christians throughout the world. He is on the advisory board of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. He has also worked with the United States Institute of Peace in Washington.