Ori Kritz


Ori Kritz is an Associate Professor and head of the Hebrew Language and Literature program at the University of Oklahoma, a part of the Judaic Studies department. She is a multilingual writer and speaker, specializing in Yiddish, Hebrew, and Jewish literature and in Jewish and Israeli humor.

Biography

Kritz was born and raised in Israel. She studied at Tel Aviv University, earning a B.A. in Philosophy and Hebrew Literature in 1981 and an M.A. in Hebrew literature in 1986, with Professor Uzi Shavit as her thesis advisor. Her thesis is entitled Up Against Gloomy Skies: On Mordechai Tembkin's Poetry. At Tel Aviv University, she specialized in both modern and medieval Hebrew literature. She later earned an M.Phil. in 1991 and a Ph.D in 1993 from Columbia University; both degrees in Yiddish Literature. Her dissertation, entitled The Poetics of Anarchy: David Edelshtat's Revolutionary Poetry, covers thematic, prosodic, rhetorical and ideological aspects of American Yiddish ideological poetry. She was advised by Professor Benjamin Harshav.
Kritz has since taught at Emory University, Gordon College, and the University of Oklahoma. Kritz is also featured in the 2005 film, The Hebrew Project.

Publications

Books

In addition to the publications listed above, Kritz has made numerous contributions to the Encyclopedia of American Jewish History and The Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World