Doctor Rebecca Jefferson
Nationality: United Kingdom
Year: 1996
Subject Area: Arts and Humanities
I was awarded a Wingate Scholarship in 1996 to fund an MPhil degree at the University of Cambridge. The scholarship enabled me to conduct research into the vocalization of medieval Hebrew poetry manuscripts from the Cairo Genizah. This research formed the basis of my subsequent PhD dissertation Popular Renditions of Hebrew Hymns in the Middle Ages (2004).
At the same time, I was employed by the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit in Cambridge University Library to work on their Bibliography Project. I co-authored volume two of Published Material from the Cambridge Genizah Collections: A Bibliography (2004) and was placed in charge of the project after completing my PhD.
Since that time, I have continued to work in the Genizah Research Unit where, in addition to my bibliographical work, I help catalogue the newly acquired Jacques Mosseri Genizah Collection, I assist with the Unit’s fundraising activities, and I edit our biannual newsletter Genizah Fragments.