Danielle Shenhar
Assistant Professor of Instruction in Modern Hebrew
Doctor of Modern Languages, Middlebury College, 2025
- Office Location
- 419 Rush Rhees Library
Office Hours: By appointment
Biography
Danielle Shenhar joined the Department of Religion and Classics in 2025 as Assistant Professor of Instruction in Modern Hebrew. She teaches courses in Modern Hebrew language and literature, combining language acquisition with close engagement in texts that open discussions of culture, identity, and belonging. Her pedagogy emphasizes the role of literature as both a linguistic tool and a cultural lens, enabling students to explore their own voices while encountering the complexities of modern Jewish experience.
Dr. Shenhar earned her doctorate in Modern Languages at Middlebury College. Her dissertation examined modern Hebrew poetry and literature within the context of heritage language education, analyzing how heritage students interpret texts and how identity and cultural memory shape their reading practices.
Research Overview
Current Research
Dr. Shenhar’s research investigates the power dynamics embedded in Jewish literature, particularly as they emerge when canonical or hegemonic texts are read in the classroom. She focuses on how heritage students respond to these texts, and how these responses reflect broader negotiations of identity, cultural belonging, and authority. Her work emphasizes the interpretive practices of heritage students, showing how literature functions as a prism through which they navigate the tensions between personal identity, collective Jewish memory, and national narratives. She analyzes how classroom reading practices expose and challenge cultural hierarchies, giving heritage learners a voice in redefining the relationship between Hebrew language and Jewish culture.
Broader Research Interests
Beyond heritage education, her interests include modern Hebrew prose and poetry, Jewish tales and their pedagogical uses, the intersections of language acquisition and cultural identity, and the impact of Zionist ideology on modern Hebrew narrative traditions.
Previous Research
Her earlier scholarship explored Zionist ideology and Jewish storytelling traditions, analyzing their role in shaping both modern Hebrew literature and the cultural frameworks of Hebrew language pedagogy.
Teaching
Courses Offered (subject to change)
- HBRW 101: Elementary Modern Hebrew I
- HBRW 102: Elementary Modern Hebrew II
- HBRW 103: Intermediate Modern Hebrew I
- HBRW 104: Intermediate Modern Hebrew II
- HBRW 151: Modern Hebrew for Heritage Language Learners
- HBRW 204: Hebrew through Media and Literature