Hava Samuelson
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COOR 4466 TEMPE, AZ 85287-4302
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Mail code: 4302Campus: Tempe
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Professor Hava Tirosh-Samuelson is Regents Professor of History, Irving and Miriam Lowe Professor of Modern Judaism, and Director of Jewish Studies at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ. She holds a doctorate in Jewish philosophy and Mysticism from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1978), and a bachelor's degree in religious studies from SUNY-Stony Brook, New York (1974). Prior to joining the faculty of Arizona State University in 1999, she taught at Indiana University (1991-1999), Emory University in Atlanta (1988-1991), Columbia University in New York (1982-1988), and Hebrew Union College in New York (1980-1982).
Tirosh-Samuelson is a Jewish intellectual historian who focuses on the interplay of philosophy and mysticism, Judaism and science, and Judaism and ecology. In addition to over 50 essays and book chapters, she is the author of "Between Worlds: The Life and Work of Rabbi David ben Judah Messer Leon" (1991) which received the award of the Hebrew University for the best work in Jewish history for 1991, and the author of "Happiness in Premodern Judaism: Virtue, Knowledge and Well-Being in Premodern Judaism" (2003), and "Religion and Environment: The Case of Judaism" (2020). She is also the editor of "Judaism and Ecology: Created World and Revealed World" (2002); "Women and Gender in Jewish Philosophy" (2004); "Judaism and the Phenomenon of Life: The Legacy of Hans Jonas" (2008); "Building Better Humans? Refocusing the Debate on Transhumanism" (2011); "Hollywood’s Chosen People: The Jewish Experience in American Cinema" (2012); "Jewish Philosophy for the Twenty-First Century: Personal Reflections" (2014); "Perfecting Human Futures: Transhuman Visions and Technological Imaginations" (2016), "The Enduring Legacy of Salo W. Baron" (2017), and "The Future of Jewish Philosophy" (2018). Professor Tirosh-Samuelson is the editor-in-chief of the "Library of Contemporary Jewish Philosophers (2013-2018), a series of 21 books featuring outstanding Jewish thinkers and their reflections on Judaism.
Within the field of science and religion, Tirosh-Samuelson explores the interplay of religion, science and technology with a focus on transhumanism and the relationship between Judaism, science and medicine. She is the PI or Co-PI of several Templeton funded projects: 1) “Facing the Challenges of Transhumanism: Religion, Science, and Technology” (2006-2010); 2) “The Transhumanist Imagination: Innovation, Secularization and Eschatology” (2012-14); 3) “Beyond Secularization: Piloting New Approaches for the Study of Religion, Science, and Technology in Public Life” (2016-2018); and 4) "Beyond Secularization: Religion, Science and Technology in Public Life (2019-2022). These grants have funded symposia, public lectures, faculty seminars, and international conferences. Tirosh-Samuelson is a member of International Society of Science and Religion (ISSR) and serves on the academic board of Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science and has served as Division Chair of Medieval Jewish Philosophy in the Association of Jewish Studies (2017-2020). As director of the Center for Jewish Studies at ASU, Tirosh-Samuelson manages the international society, Judaism, Science and Medicine Group (JSMG) and organizes its annual conferences.
- Ph.D. Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1978. Dissertation: “The Philosophy of David ben Judah Messer Leon.” Supervisor: Professor Shlomo Pines
- Graduate Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Philosophy and Kabbalah (Direct Ph.D. Program) 1974-1978
- B.A. (with Honors), SUNY at Stony Brook, Dept. of Religious Studies 1974
- Undergraduate Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Jewish Philosophy and Kabbalah and Department of Hebrew Literature 1971-1973
