Associate Professor Oren Kosansky has received a prestigious Fulbright award for his project, “Digital Humanities Scholarship and Jewish Cultural Heritage in Contemporary Morocco”. Building on his extensive background in anthropology and Moroccan studies, this project bridges the gap between Middle East and North African (MENA) studies and Jewish studies.
Dr. Kosansky will expand the Rabat Genizah Project, an online archive of over 2,000 historical documents—ranging from legal texts to personal letters—recovered from a Jewish cemetery repository (genizah) in Rabat. His work will focus on:
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Digital Preservation: Utilizing advanced tools to make 200 documents available online and automating text transcription for broader research access.
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Cultural Accessibility: Translating the archive into Arabic and French, and preserving the heritage language of Moroccan Judeo-Arabic.
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Public Exhibition: Designing an exhibit at the Museum of Moroccan Judaism to showcase how these materials reflect the pluralistic history of Morocco.
Based primarily at the Museum of Moroccan Judaism and Ibn Zohr University, Dr. Kosansky will lead a series of faculty seminars and student workshops. His residency involves close partnership with several Moroccan universities to foster engaged scholarship and support new research into the country’s diverse cultural history. This initiative not only preserves a vital piece of global history but also establishes a model for international scholarly collaboration in the digital age.
Dr. Kosansky has a strong record of obtaining external funding. The Rabat Genizah Project originated during his 2005 Fulbright award and continued with the support of a National Endowment for the Humanities Digital Humanities grant. In 2020, he received a residential fellowship from the Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan.
Please join us in celebrating this remarkable achievement and wishing Dr. Kosansky a productive and inspiring year in Morocco!
About the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program
The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government, designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. It is one of the most widely recognized and prestigious scholarships in the world, annually awarding approximately 800 grants to American scholars and professionals to lecture and conduct research in over 130 countries. Recipients are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as their record of service and leadership in their respective fields. By supporting these international partnerships, the Fulbright program plays a critical role in fostering global mutual understanding and addressing complex challenges through collaborative scholarship.
