Daniel R. Langton

Prof. Daniel Langton is Professor of Jewish History at the Dept of Religions and Theology at the University of Manchester, UK. As an historian he has explored Jewish intellectual history and the history of Jewish-Christian relations in a variety of contexts, including Jewish New Testament studies, the origins of Anglo-Reform and Anglo-Liberal Judaism, Israel and Zionism, Holocaust Theology, and Jewish religious engagement with Darwinism and with Atheism.

www.manchester.ac.uk/research/daniel.r.langton/

BOOK REVIEWS - The Apostle Paul in the Jewish Imagination (2010, 2014):

'In this fascinating and brilliant book, Daniel Langton describes how Jewish scholars, intellectuals, and artists, from Buber and Mendelssohn to Spinoza and Freud, grappled with the challenge of Paul and their own Jewish identity.' (Donald Hagner, Fuller Theological Seminary). 'Langton offers a sophisticated, nuanced, yet easy-to-follow analysis of the role of Paul in Jewish discourse.' (Mark Nanos, Rockhurst University). 'Daniel Langton's masterful study reveals a complex range of Jewish attitudes. This book will be a stimulating resource for Jewish-Christian dialogue and for Jewish self-understanding.' (Marc Saperstein, Leo Baeck College). '[A] fascinating and erudite work... Chapter 1 in particular (Paul in the Popular Jewish Imagination) should be required reading for all Pauline scholars.' (Mark Finney, University of Sheffield). 'I highly recommend [it] to all who are interested in Jewish readings of the New Testament, as well as in their Jewish cultural and historical contexts. It is well-written, very engaging, and a significant contribution to the field of modern Jewish intellectual history and the history of the reception of the New Testament.' (Adele Reinhartz, University of Ottawa). '[A] rich and innovative study... [it] presents a challenge to major current interests in biblical scholarship... It deserves to be read widely and to become a stimulus for further dialogue of the kind it so well models.' (Judith Lieu, University of Cambridge). '[A]n ambitious, pioneering study, which impresses the reader both with the tremendous breadth of scholarship presented and the big questions it addresses about Jews, Judaism, and modernity. Langton's work is a tour de force... [A]n outstanding piece of scholarship that truly stands alone, sui generis.' (Matthew Hoffman, AJS Review).

BOOK REVIEWS - Writing the Holocaust (2011), co-edited with Jean-Marc Dreyfus:

'In this collection of ten essays, editors Jean-Marc Dreyfus and Daniel Langton show the interdisciplinarity that is characteristic of Holocaust studies. A number of the essays focus on different ways of looking at the Holocaust, such as gender and psychoanalysis, while others examine responses to the Holocaust, including representations of the events in movies and museums. In strong, concise essays, these authors provide an extensive background to their specific area of Holocaust study, as well as suggesting lines of investigation that deserve closer examination... Writing the Holocaust is an excellent example of how [a] new comparative approach to both Holocaust and genocide studies is possible, as well as highlighting many research avenues that are still fresh or underexplored.' (Norah Schneider, Journal of Genocide Research). 'The volume gives a good overview of how the thinking about ways to deal with the Holocaust has progressed. It is highly useful for scholars who want to take it as a basis to find out what literature has been published in the field of Holocaust writing, what perspectives have been taken, what problems have been debated, and what is the current state of the art. It is a broad overview and offers many openings for those who want to dig deeper into the material.' (Mare van den Eeden, European Review of History). '[A]ll of the contributions succeed in providing food for thought and setting out the key landmarks for this rapidly growing field of research.' (Susanne Heim, Perspectivia, Berlin).

BOOK REVIEWS - Children of Zion: Jewish and Christian Perspectives on the Holy Land (2008):

'It is a wonderful and useful piece of work.' (Ilan Troen, Director of the Israel Studies programmes at Ben Gurion University and Brandeis University). 'Langton has brought to bear his considerable knowledge and research abilities to produce in clear language something of real value... [Few] combine so effectively clarity with brevity and breadth with depth.' (Guy Wilkinson, Chief Inter Faith Relations advisor to the Archbishop of Canterbury).

BOOK REVIEWS - The Life and Thought of Claude Montefiore (2002):

'Daniel Langton's book on Claude Montefiore provides the first full-length study of the founder of English Liberal Judaism. Although a number of articles on Montefiore and a collection of his writings have been published since his death in 1938, no detailed treatment of this radical thinker has been made available until now... The book fills an important gap in Anglo-Jewish history and should be welcomed, particularly by those interested in the development of Progressive Judaism in the U.K... [This is] an articulate, well-reasoned, and valuable book, which I recommend.' (Ed Kessler, Cambridge University). 'The weight of the book is devoted to Montefiore's thought; the man was first and foremost a thinker... If there is one outstanding strength of Dr Langton's examination of Montefiore's theology, it surely lies in his frank admission of the extent to which Montefiore saw himself - and actively and unashamedly projected himself - as a later day expositor of the Jewish content of the teachings of Jesus.' (Geoffrey Alderman, Jewish Journal of Sociology).