{"id":11683,"date":"2024-09-26T12:41:07","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T16:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/?post_type=profile&#038;p=11683"},"modified":"2026-08-24T13:19:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T17:19:00","slug":"michael-zank-2","status":"publish","type":"profile","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/faculty\/michael-zank-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Zank"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span>Michael Zank (b. 1958), a native of Germany, studied Protestant Theology, Philosophy, and Jewish Studies in G\u00f6ttingen, Kiel, Heidelberg, and Jerusalem before he received a PhD in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University in Waltham\/Mass with a dissertation on <em>Reconciling Judaism and Cultural Consciousness: The Idea of <\/em>Vers\u00f6hnung <em>in Hermann Cohen\u2019s Philosophy of Religion, <\/em>1994<em>. <\/em>He has since written books and articles on German-Jewish philosophical and political thinkers, including Leo Strauss, Martin Buber, and Franz Rosenzweig, on Jerusalem in the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religious and political imagination, and on topics in philosophy of religion. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>At BU, he served as director of undergraduate and graduate studies in Religion, as well as director of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/jewishstudies\/\">Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies<\/a><span> (2011-12, 2013-2022). He currently directs the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ipr\/\">Institute for Philosophy of Religion<\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A passionate and prize-winning teacher, Zank\u2019s current classes include RN101 The Bible,\u00a0 RN106 Death and Immortality, RN220 Holy City: Jerusalem in Time Space and the Imagination, RN396 Philosophy of Religion, and RN420 Maimonides. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Fun facts: Zank is a recorded singer and multi-instrumentalist (including drums and bass-clarinet) and he regularly bakes sourdough bread. (Samples available on request.) His favorite thing in the world is to travel with his wife, the artist <a href=\"http:\/\/miriamshenitzer.com\/\">Miriam Shenitzer<\/a>, and to make new friends.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"\/religion\/files\/2026\/08\/Zank-Michael-CV-F26.pdf\">Current CV<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>For more on Zank see<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/mzank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/mzank<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For a musical sample, see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QNpbAh6vIIo\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QNpbAh6vIIo<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Michael Zank, Drums<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Books<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wiley.com\/en-us\/Jerusalem%3A+A+Brief+History-p-9781405179713\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/files\/2018\/08\/Big-Clover-small1.png\" class=\"alignleft\" width=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wiley.com\/en-us\/Jerusalem%3A+A+Brief+History-p-9781405179713\"><em>Jerusalem: A Brief History<\/em><\/a><br \/>\nBy Michael Zank September 2018, Wiley-Blackwell<br \/>\nBuy now at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wiley.com\/en-us\/Jerusalem%3A+A+Brief+History-p-9781405179713\">Wiley<\/a>!<a href=\"http:\/\/www.springer.com\/us\/book\/9789402410808\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.springer.com\/us\/book\/9789402410808\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/files\/2017\/08\/9789402410808_p0_v2_s192x300.jpeg\" class=\"alignleft\" width=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.springer.com\/us\/book\/9789402410808\"><em>Politics, Religion and Political Theology<\/em><\/a><br \/>\nEditors: Allen Speight, Michael Zank<br \/>\nSpringer Netherlands, July 2017<\/div>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/jewishstudies\/2014\/07\/15\/elie-wiesel-tribute-volume-published\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/files\/2017\/08\/Elie-Wiesel-423x636.png\" alt=\"Elie Wiesel\" class=\"alignleft\" width=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/jewishstudies\/2014\/07\/15\/elie-wiesel-tribute-volume-published\/\"><em>Take a Teacher, Make a Friend<\/em><\/a><br \/>\nEdited by Michael Zank and Leanne Hoppe<br \/>\n2014<\/div>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brill.com\/products\/book\/value-particular-lessons-judaism-and-modern-jewish-experience\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/files\/2016\/10\/The-Value-of-the-Particular-Lessons-from-Judaism-and-the-Modern-Jewish-Experience-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"The Value of the Particular- Lessons from Judaism and the Modern Jewish Experience\" class=\"alignleft\" width=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brill.com\/products\/book\/value-particular-lessons-judaism-and-modern-jewish-experience\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>The Value of the Particular: Lessons from Judaism and the Modern Jewish Experience<\/em><\/a><br \/>\nEdited by Michael Zank and Ingrid Anderson<br \/>\nBrill, May 2015<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mohr.de\/buch\/juedische-religionsphilosophie-als-apologie-des-mosaismus-9783161547331\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/files\/2016\/10\/Zank-2016-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Zank 2016\" class=\"alignleft\" width=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mohrsiebeck.com\/buch\/juedische-religionsphilosophie-als-apologie-des-mosaismus-9783161547348?no_cache=1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>J\u00fcdische Religionsphilosophie als Apologie des Mosaismus<\/em><\/a><br \/>\nBy Michael Zank<br \/>\nMohr Siebeck GmbH &amp; Company K, 2016<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Perspectives-Martin-Religion-Philosophy-Theology\/dp\/3161489985\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/\/religion\/files\/2010\/03\/martin-buber-2.png\" class=\"alignleft\" width=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Perspectives-Martin-Religion-Philosophy-Theology\/dp\/3161489985\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>New Perspectives on Martin Buber<\/em><\/a><br \/>\n(Editor and Contributor)<br \/>\n[Religion in Philosophy and Theology, ed. Ingo Dalferth, vol. 22] T\u00fcbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006.<\/div>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/judaicstudies.brown.edu\/monograph\/idea-atonement-philosophy-hermann-cohen\"><img src=\"\/religion\/files\/2024\/09\/Zank-424x636.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"alignleft\" width=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/judaicstudies.brown.edu\/monograph\/idea-atonement-philosophy-hermann-cohen\"><em>The Idea of Atonement in the Philosophy of Hermann Cohen<\/em><\/a><br \/>\nBy Michael Zank<\/div>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div>\n<h2>Courses<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/academics\/cas\/courses\/cas-rn-101\/\">CAS<span>\u00a0<\/span>RN 101 The Bible<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/academics\/cas\/courses\/cas-rn-106\/\">CAS RN 106 Death and Immortality<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/mzank\/Michael_Zank\/Bible\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/academics\/cas\/courses\/cas-rn-220\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CAS RN 220 Holy City: Jerusalem in Time, Space, and the Imagination<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/academics\/cas\/courses\/cas-rn-396\/\"><span>CAS RN 396\/696 Philosophy of Religion<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/academics\/cas\/courses\/cas-rn-397\/\">CASRN 397\/697 <span>Topics in Philosophy and Religion<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li>CAS RN 420\/720 Maimonides<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"author":24159,"template":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile\/11683"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/profile"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24159"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile\/11683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12144,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile\/11683\/revisions\/12144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/religion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}