New Trends in the Study of Haredi Culture and Society

Who are Haredim? And why are they the source of both increasing attention and continuing misunderstanding? New Trends in the Study of Haredi Culture and Society draws on the innovative research of leading scholars from a variety of disciplines-including history, religious studies, demography, linguistics, and geography-to trace the growing prominence of Haredi (often called ultra-Orthodox) Jews in Jewish life. Haredi Jews are committed to preserving a measure of segregation from the rest of society consistent with the guiding principles of their forebears; yet increasingly, they are appearing more visibly and assertively in public spaces. Demographic analysis suggests that they will constitute a much larger share-nearly one-quarter-of the world Jewish population over the next twenty years. By examining the evolution of political, cultural, and social trends in Haredi communities across the globe, this interdisciplinary and transnational volume sheds important light both on Haredi communities and on the societies of which they are part.

David N. Myers is Distinguished Professor of History and holds the Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish History at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he serves as the director of the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy. He also directs the UCLA Initiative to Study Hate. He is the author or editor of more than fifteen books in the field of Jewish history, including, with Nomi M. Stolzenberg, American Shtetl: The Making of Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Village in Upstate New York, which was awarded the 2022 National Jewish Book Award in American Jewish studies.