Fellow of the Gutenberg Research College of Mainz University invited to northern Europe's leading research institute
29.08.2014
Scholar of religious studies and historian, Professor Dr. Isaac Kalimi, of the Old Testament and Biblical Archaeology division of the Faculty of Protestant Theology of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), who is also a fellow of the Gutenberg Research College (GRC), will begin work in September 2014 at the renowned Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS) of Uppsala University in Sweden. The SCAS was founded in 1985 and has achieved prominence beyond the borders of Scandinavia as an outstanding European institute particularly for research in the fields of humanities and fine arts studies. Every year the institute invites firmly selected researchers and academics to spend a year in Uppsala to work in close interdisciplinary collaboration with distinguished colleagues. After Christiane Bulut and Lars Johansen of the Department of Oriental Studies of Mainz University, who researched at the SCAS in the academic year 2005/2006, Isaac Kalimi is the third academic from JGU to be awarded this fellowship as an international leading expert in his fields.
"As a scholar of religious studies and historian, it is a great honor for me and represents a recognition of my previous research to be awarded a fellowship of the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study," explained Professor Isaac Kalimi. "There are only very few institutions around the world that are internationally commended for promoting interdisciplinary dialog and excellent scholarship in the humanities in this form. I am looking forward to working closely with colleagues from various disciplines." In the coming year, Kalimi intends to focus specifically on his work on the topic "The Man and the Myth: The Birth and Rise of King Solomon in Ancient Israelite Historiography."
Isaac Kalimi is one of the world's leading experts on the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and the history of ancient Israel. He is an established authority with regard to both classical and medieval Biblical exegesis. Since 2013, he has been a fellow of the Gutenberg Research College at the Faculty of Protestant Theology at Mainz University and recently published his studies on the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem and on the creation and reception of the Biblical Book of Chronicles. His invitation to work at the eminent SCAS will contribute to the expansion of the international network maintained by the JGU Faculty of Theology.