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Michael Meerson

School Address Home Address

1879 Hall 123 Bayard Lane

Department of Religion Princeton NJ 08540

Princeton University

Princeton NJ 08540

Education

Bar-Ilan University (Ramat-Gan, Israel) June 2006

Ph.D. in Classical Studies with a focus on papyrology.

Dissertation: “Gifts After Death in Greco-Roman Egypt.” (papyrological corpus)

Dissertation director: Prof. Ranon Katzoff.

Zurich University (Zurich, Switzerland) 2000-2001

Exchange Student (enrolled as Ph.D Sudent at the Institute of Classical Philology)

Hebrew University (Jerusalem, Israel) 1999

MA in Classical Archaeology with a focus of Greek epigraphy, and literary papyri, and Roman art in Asia Minor, Near East, and North Africa.

Thesis: “Pharmaka in Greek Magical Papyri.”

Thesis Directors: Prof. Shaul Shaked and Dr. Lea Di Segni

Haifa University (Haifa, Israel) 1995

BA in Archaeology with a focus on Greco-Roman period, with a minor in General History with a focus on antique and medieval periods.

Senior thesis: “Gymnasia and Bath-Gymnasia in Hellenistic Asia Minor.”

Thesis Director: Prof. Arthur Segal

Professional Experience

Academic Appointments

Princeton University 2004-2007

Research Scholar at the Department of Religion and the Program in Judaic Studies

Functions as one of the editors of Sefer Hasidim Project

Directed by Prof. Peter Schaefer

Princeton University 2004-2005

Senior Research Assistant at the Department of Religion

Works on Cairo Geniza Magical texts

Directed by Prof. Peter Schafer

Haifa University 1993-1995

Adjunct Instructor ofArchaeology of Greek and Roman Period in Israel

Department of Archaeology

Field Archaeology

Excavations directed:

Beit Horon (Judaea) – Roman road and Byzantine village 1999

Archaeologist at Israel Antiquities Authority

Participation in excavations:

Mount Gerizim (Samaria) 1998

Israel Antiquities Authority

Directed by Dr. Izhak Magen

Haifa (Seleucid fortress)

Directed by Prof. Arthur Segal 1995

El Ahuat (Iron Age [10th c. BCE] settlement) 1994

Directed by Prof. Adam Zertal 1993

Observation and Control (from Israel Antiquities Authority):

Ramle (Arabic settlement) 1995

Epigraphy

Israel Antiquities Authority Research scholar 1997-1999

Mount Gerizim (Samaria)

Hellenistic and Byzantine inscriptions (prepared for publications, forthcoming)

North Hevron (Israel)

Inscriptions from churches and monasteries (5-7 cc. CE)

Anab el-Kabir (Israel)

Church, mosaic inscriptions (6th c. CE); published.

Shiloh (Samaria)

Church, inscriptions from reliquarium (6th c. CE)

Monastery of Martirius (Judaea) (6th c. CE)

Papyri and Ostraka

State University of Milan (Italy) Visiting schoral 2004

Invited by prof. Claudio Gallazzi to practice reading of ostraca and papyri; the latter included in the dissertation.

Museum Lectures

Hebrew University (Jerusalem, Israel) 1999

Archaeological exhibition “Hasmonean Palaces in Jericho”

Exhibition directed by Dr. Eilat Mazar

Teaching and University Lectures

State University of Milan (Italy) January2004

Recent Archaeological Research in Israel - 3 hours.

Gifts After Death in Greco-Roman Egypt – 2 hours.

Hellenistic Inscription of Mount Gerizim – 1 hour.

Bar-Ilan University (Israel) 2001

Excavations and Inscriptions of Mount Gerizim – 1 hour

Hebrew University (Jerusalem, Israel) 1998

Led an archaeological summer camp for school-age children

Haifa University (Israel) 1993-1995

Adjunct Instructor ofArchaeology of Greek and Roman Period in Israel

Department of Archaeology

University Services

Princeton University 2005

Co-organizer of the international congress Jewish Magic in Context

Led and organized by Profs. P.Schafer and M.Himmelfarb

Grants and Fellowship

Bar-Ilan University (Ramat-Gan) 2000-2004

Excellence Fellowship for Doctoral Studies (four-year university graduate fellowship and full scholarship support)

Bar-Ilan University 2004

Travel Grant to the International Congress of Papyrologists in Helsinki, Finland.

State University of Milan (Italy) 2003

Travel and accommodation grant (for a visit to practice papyrological skills and lecturing)

Zurich University (Switzerland) – Hebrew University (Jerusalem)

Exchange Stipend 2001-2001

Hebrew University (Jerusalem) 1998

Scholarship Support

Haifa University (Israel) 1994

Scholarship support

Haifa University (Israel) 1993

Full-year of archaeological magazine Cathedra granted for excellence in the study.

Publications

“Gifts after death in Greco-Roman Egypt.”Proceedings of 24th Internationsal Congress of Papyrologists, 2004. Helsinki, forthcoming.

“Book is a territory: Goralot, a Hebrew book of fortune in context.”QJS 2006.

“Metal Finds from East Itamar (Samaria).”Qadmoniot. Forthcoming.

Collaborations

2006. P.Schaefer ed. “Wege mystischer Gotterfahrung: Judentum, Christentum, and Islam.” Munich (INDEX prepared by M.Meerson)

2003. I.Magen, “A Church of Anab el-Kebir,” Qadmoniot 125: 47-54. (transcription and translation of inscriptions by M.Meerson and L. Di Segni)

Schaefer, P. and Sh. Shaked, “Magische Texte aus der Kairoeer Geniza.” Vol. IV. Tuebingen. Forthcoming in 2007.

Schaefer, P. ed. “Sefer Hasidim (Book of Pious).” In preparation.

Magen, I. ed. “Greek Inscriptions of Har Gerizim.” Forthcoming.

Conferences and Symposia

Princeton, NJ 2005

International congress on Jewish magic: Jewish Magic in Context

Presentation: Book is a territory: Goralot, a Hebrew book of fortune in context

Helsinki, Finland 2004

24th International Congress of Papyrologists

Presentation: Gifts after Death in Greco-Roman Egypt

Participation in Seminars

Zurich University (Switzerland) 2000-2001

Introduction to Papyrology

Led by Prof. Peter Parsons

Greek Dialectic Inscriptions

Led by Prof. Dunkel

Gorgias (Plato)

Led by Prof. Christoph Riedweg

Foreign Language Skills

Russian – native speaker; Hebrew – near-native fluency in reading, writing, and conversation; German, Italian – reading, some writing and conversation; French, Greek, Latin, Aramaic –reading.