Director
Keren R. McGinity is an internationally recognized gender historian who specializes in intermarriage. A highly sought after speaker, Dr. McGinity is a Research Associate at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, an Adjunct Assistant Professor of American Studies, and a Research Affiliate at the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University. She was the inaugural Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Contemporary American Jewish Life at the University of Michigan’s Frankel Center for Judaic Studies (2008-2010). Dr. McGinity earned her Ph.D. from Brown University where she subsequently held an appointment as a Visiting Assistant Professor of history (2005-2008). She also holds degrees from Harvard and Rutgers Universities. Dr. McGinity teaches ethnic literature, history, sociology, American studies, gender studies, and Jewish studies. She was the maiden graduate research fellow at the Jewish Women’s Archive, where she currently serves on the Academic Advisory Council. Her pioneering book, Still Jewish: A History of Women and Intermarriage in America (NYU Press), was selected as a finalist for the 2009 National Jewish Book Award. Dr. McGinity’s current book project is titled Unexpected Partners: Intermarriage and Jewish Fatherhood (Indiana University Press, Under Contract). Interweaving contemporary ethnography with traditional archival sources, these works significantly broaden the understanding of intermarried women and men by elucidating the meanings behind their choices, the Gentiles who marry them, and the influential role of popular culture. Dr. McGinity’s research and writing have been generously supported by the Mandell L. Berman Foundation, the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, the National Women’s Studies Association, Wellesley College, Brown University, the University of Michigan, and the Association for Jewish Studies Women’s Caucus. Click here for her full CV.
Photograph by D.C. Goings