Press Releases
17.04.2014
2014 Lucas Prize for Judaic Studies expert
Professor Peter Schäfer to be honored for his contribution to a greater understanding of early Jewish history and culture.
The Faculty of Protestant Theology will award this year’s Dr. Leopold Lucas Prize to Judaic Studies Professor Peter Schäfer on 13 May. Schäfer is the Ronald O. Perelman Professor of Judaic Studies and Professor of Religion at Princeton University. He receives the award for his contribution to establishing Judaic Studies as a discipline as well as for his research on the history, literature and theology of ancient and early medieval Jewry. The Lucas Prize of €50,000 is awarded annually in recognition of outstanding achievement in the fields of Theology, History or Philosophy, focusing on individuals whose work promotes tolerance among nations and religions.
Peter Schäfer was born in Mülheim in 1943. He studied Catholic Theology, Philosophy and Judaic Studies in Bonn and at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He completed his PhD at the University of Freiburg, was a research fellow at the Institutum Judaicum in Tübingen before completing his habilitation thesis in Judaic Studies at Frankfurt University in 1973. His academic career took him to the United States in 1998, where he was appointed to his present professorship in 2003. He has received a number of other prizes, including the Leibniz Award and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Distinguished Achievement Award.
Professor Schäfer has made a very significant contribution to the establishment of Judaic Studies both in its own right and in relationship to other disciplines. This, in addition to his considerable academic achievements, makes him one of today’s most important Judaic Studies researchers, whose influence reaches far beyond his field of study.
The Leopold Lucas Prize honors the memory of the Jewish rabbi and scholar Dr. Leopold Lucas, murdered at Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1943. The Prize was endowed by his son, Franz D. Lucas, in 1972.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kampmann,
Prof. Dr. Friedrich Hermanni,
Prof. Dr. Christof Landmesser
Dean’s Office, Faculty of Protestant Theology
University of Tübingen
Phone: +49 7071 29-72538
<link mail ein fenster zum versenden der>ev.theologie[at]uni-tuebingen.de