Orian Zakai

Orian Zakai
Assistant Professor of Hebrew/Israeli Literature and Culture, Hebrew Program Coordinator
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Orian Zakai holds an M.A. (Tel-Aviv University) and a Ph.D. (University of Michigan) in Comparative Literature. She specializes in Modern Hebrew literature and culture and gender studies. Her current research interests include gender and nation in Hebrew women’s literature, and intersections of gender and ethnicity in Israeli culture. She has taught Hebrew language, literature and culture, as well as courses in Judaic studies, Women’s studies and Comparative Literature at the University of Michigan and at Middlebury College. In her teaching, she takes an interdisciplinary approach to literature and culture, exploring their intersections with history and politics. Her language acquisition methodology emphasizes communication in meaningful contexts and attention to the diversity of learners and learning styles.
Orian Zakai’s publications include articles on women, gender and Zionism in Hebrew literature in periodicals such as Nashim, Prooftexts and Mikan as well the Hebrew short fiction collection Fill in the Blanks (Keter Publishing House, 2010). She is currently working on a book manuscript tentatively titled “Fictions of Gender: Femininity and the Zionist Imagination.”