Prof. Bar-Itzhak is a
professor of literature and folklore. She served as Chair of the Department of
Hebrew and Comparative Literature, serves as Head of Folklore Studies, and is
the Director of the Israel Folktale Archives at the University of Haifa.
The
focus of her research is Jewish folk literature with an emphasis on the
ethnographic and poetic aspects. She is published extensively on settlement,
immigration and ethnicity in Israel; Jewish folk literature in Eastern Europe;
and women in Jewish folklore.
Prof. Bar-Itzhak has published ten books and many
articles in Hebrew, English, German, French, Russian, Polish and Ukrainian. She
is a recipient of several awards and grants, among them the American National
Jewish Book Award, the Lerner Foundation for Yiddish Culture Award, Fulbright
fellowship and the Israeli Science Foundation grant. She is the editor of the
first Encyclopedia of Jewish Folklore and Traditions published in the
U.S. by M.E. Sharpe.
Contact: hbitzhak@research.haifa.ac.il