Constanza Cordoni, Professorship of Jewish Studies with a focus on source and cultural history

Contact Constanza Cordoni

"In my research, I deal with Jewish literature from the rabbinic period, a historical epoch that stretches from 70 CE, the time of the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, to around the middle of the 11th century. During this period, the classical foundations were laid for many central aspects of later Judaism. I am particularly interested in the later part of this period, the time between the Arab-Muslim conquests in the 7th century and the beginning of the Crusades in the 11th century. This phase was characterised by profound cultural and religious developments that had a lasting impact on Judaism.

One of the aims of my research on primarily Hebrew-language texts from late antiquity and the Middle Ages is to gain a deeper understanding of Jewish literary and cultural history and thus contribute to knowledge about Judaism in its many facets and manifestations, thereby helping to combat prejudices about Judaism." (Constanza Cordoni)

Research areas:

* Jewish literary and cultural history of the rabbinic period (70-1040 A.D./Chr.)
* Jewish exegesis in change and context; rabbinic hermeneutics
* Bible reception
* Judaistic historical narratology

Curriculum Vitae:

2000 Master's degree (Licenciatura) in General Literature, Universidad de Buenos Aires
2005 Master's degree in German Philology, University of Vienna
2008-2010 Research Assistant, Department of German Studies, University of Vienna
2011 Doctorate in German Philology, University of Vienna
2010-2016 Prae-doc Assistant, Institute for Jewish Studies, University of Vienna
2016 Doctorate in Jewish Studies, University of Vienna
2016-2019 Post-doc Fellow, Department Geschiedenis en Kunstgeschiedenis, Universiteit Utrecht
since 2021 PI, Institute for Medieval Studies, Austrian Academy of Sciences/Institute for Jewish Studies, University of Vienna (FWF project: Das Land Israel in der gaonäischen Zeit; P34307-G)
2021 Habilitation and venia docendi in Jewish Studies, University of Vienna
2022-2023 Visiting Professor, Institute of Jewish Studies, FU Berlin
2021-2024 Post-doc Rothschild Fellow, Institute of Jewish Studies, University of Vienna (Project: ‘Enduring Job: The book of Job in early medieval Jewish literature’)
since July 2025 PI, Institute of Jewish Studies, University of Vienna (FWF project: The Book of Job in Jewish Literature of the Early Middle Ages; PAT5867124)
since 1 July 2025 Professor of Jewish Studies with a focus on source and cultural history, Institute of Jewish Studies, University of Vienna