Hebrew Language Initiative

Justin Cammy is a literary and cultural historian who specializes in Yiddish. He is chair of both the Program in World Literatures and the Program in Jewish Studies, and also holds appointments in Russian and East European Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, and Translation Studies.  
Cammy's publications range from essays on Yiddish literary history to scholarly translations of foundational texts to introductions to new editions of works by Yiddish writers and memoirists that open them up to a broad readership. 
He is a Professor of World Literatures and Jewish Studies at Smith College, and is a recipient Smith College’s Sherrerd Prize for Distinguished Teaching.

Joanna Caravita's research focuses on native and non-native teachers of Hebrew and Arabic.

Caravita is fascinated by the many reasons her students come to study Hebrew, the perspectives they bring with them and the myriad of ways in which they approach studying the language. She is interested in the historical and linguistic development of Hebrew, from its roots in the ancient world through to its emergence as the basis of a modern culture in Israel and beyond. Prior to coming to the Five Colleges, she taught Hebrew at the University of Texas at Austin according to an intensive, proficiency-based model of foreign language instruction. Aside from Hebrew, Caravita has studied French, Latin, Spanish, German and Arabic (and is currently dabbling in Portuguese).

She is a Five College Lecturer in Modern Hebrew Language based at Smith College, and teaches courses at both Smith and UMass Amherst. 

Professor Mednicoff's research deals with broad connections between legal and political ideas and institutions at the national and transnational levels, particularly as these relate to current issues in the Middle East. His articles and book chapters analyze the rule of law, human rights issues, Western legal aid, US policy, migrant worker law and policy, political liberalization and constitutionalism in the Middle East, especially Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia and the UAE. He is currently completing a book manuscript on the meanings and politics of the rule of law in five Arab societies.

He is the Chair of the Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies and an Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Public Policy at UMass Amherst. 

Dr. Zussman specializes in various aspects of Hebrew linguistics, including pragmatics; grammaticization; concession; and discourse particles; and Hebrew as a Second Language.

He is a Lecturer in Hebrew at UMass Amherst.