I am a Franklin and Marshall alum (2009) who was thrilled to return to F&M as faculty.  I  received my Masters from the New School for Social Research (2012) and my PhD in Cultural Anthropology from the University of California, Davis (2018).  

My research and teaching are specialized in the Anthropology of  Judaism, Israel Studies,  religious-nationalism, feminist and post-colonial theory. My anthropological research, which has been funded by the National Science Foundation and Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, innovates the study of Zionism through its transnational, intersectional feminist, and intimate ethnographic approaches.  My doctoral research examined biblical revival activism in Israel and my forthcoming book, The Children of Noah, extends this research by examining the globalization of religious-Zionism in the digital age and documenting the emergence of Bnei Noah (Children of Noah) communities across the Global South.  In addition to my fieldwork in Israel/Palestine, I have conducted comparative research with Judaizing communities in Mexico and in the Philippines. By globalizing the study of Israel and Zionism, my research also aims to productively destabilize hegemonic notions of Judaism itself, giving voice to diverse subjects who are situated at Jewish geographical, racial, and economic margins.

Languages: English, Hebrew, Arabic (Palestinian dialect)

Courses Offered: 

Introduction to Religious Studies

Judaism 

Gender and Religion 

Israel/Palestine: Beyond the Binary 

CNX1: Race and Religion 

Select Publications

BOOKS

Feldman, Rachel. The Children of Noah: Messianic Zionism in the Digital Age. (Forthcoming with Rutgers University Press 2022)

Feldman, Rachel and Ian McGonigle. (eds) Anthropological Approaches to ‘Settler-Indigeneity’ in the West Bank. (Forthcoming with McGill University Press 2023)

ARTICLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS

Feldman, Rachel. “‘Women from the Tribe of Judah:’ Gendering Settler-Indigeneity in an International West Bank Seminary.” In Anthropological Approaches to ‘Settler-Indigeneity’ in the West Bank. Edited by Rachel Feldman and Ian McGonigle. (Forthcoming with McGill University Press, 2023)

Feldman, Rachel. “I call it ‘Rabbi YouTube:’ Rabbinic Authority in the Digital Age and Global South” (Forthcoming with The Association for Judaic Studies Review,  Fall 2022)

Feldman, Rachel. “Pious Mobilities: Jewish Pilgrimage to Uman During the Pandemic.” Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Jewish Studies. Vol 40.1. Spring 2022.

Feldman, Rachel. “Jewish Theocracy at the Biblical Barbeque: The Role of Third Temple Activism and Sacrificial Reenactments in Shaping Self and State” The Journal of Contemporary Jewry. Vol 40 (2020): 431-452.

Feldman, Rachel. “Jewish Women in The Middle East.” A Chapter for the Handbook on Middle East Women. Edited by Suad Joseph and Zeina Zaatari. (Forthcoming with Routledge 2022).

Feldman, Rachel. “The Children of Noah: Has Messianic Zionism Created a New Judaic Faith?” Nova Religio, 22.1 August 2018: 115-128.

Feldman, Rachel. “Temple Mount Pilgrimage in the Name of Human Rights: The Use of Piety Practice and Liberal Discourse to Carry out Proxy-State Conquest.” The Journal of Settler Colonial Studies. 2018. Volume 8 Issue 4.

Feldman, Rachel. “Putting Messianic Femininity into Zionist Political Action: The Case of Women for the Temple.” The Journal of Middle Eastern Woman’s Studies. November 2017. Vol 13. No.3.