Dr. Yoav Hamdani
Department of General History, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
My life before BGU:
I was born and raised in Ashdod and completed high school there. I studied for my BA at Tel Aviv University in an honors program combing the humanities with the arts, where I focused on literature, film and American studies. After that, I continued my studies in the USA and earned two master’s degrees and a doctoral degree in American history at Columbia University in New York. In the three years preceding my arrival at BGU, I held postdoctoral and teaching fellowships at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, first for a year at the Center for Digital Humanities, where I gained valuable experience in computational analysis, and then for two years as a fellow in the Martin Buber Fellows program.
Why BGU?
The good people, the unique environment, and the desire to teach a field that hasn’t previously been offered at BGU - the history of the United States.
My research:
My research focuses on 19th century American history and on the role of violence in shaping state and society. The book I am currently working on, The Slaveholding Army, demonstrates that the US army was, from its inception, an “enslaving” institution, and examines the ways in which the lives and labor of enslaved servicemen were an inherent part of the nation building process.
An insight from my research:
Nothing is self-evident; and nothing is ever final - everything is in constant flux.
Something that doesn’t appear on my CV:
I’m a musician. I’ve released two albums.
Source of inspiration:
It’s hard to choose and, honestly, I’ve never given this much thought. But I’ll go with the first thing that comes to mind: Yossarian (the character from Catch 22) or Mel Brooks.
When I grow up…
For most of my childhood I wanted to be a musician. It’s still true today.
If I weren’t a researcher, I’d be…
A musician.
In brief
- Careful planning or spontaneity? Why not both? “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”.
- Pilates or spinning? Definitely Pilates.
- Morning or Night? Morning.
- Summer or winter? It doesn’t really matter in the library. And anyway, Israel doesn’t have real winters.
- Steak or tofu? I usually eat tofu, but if I had two plates in front of me, I’d go for the steak.
- Shuk or shopping mall? Shuk.
- Berry Sakharof or Noa Kirel? Berry.
- Instant coffee or espresso? Instant.
- Trekking or the beach? Trekking.
- Night out with friends or quiet night alone? An evening with family.
- Car or train? Train — but one from the 19th century. And if we’re already there, I’d probably prefer a horse.
- Classical Europe or the East Asia? The Far East — because I haven’t been there yet.
- Ocean or pool? I’ll answer like every Ashdod native — the sea.
- City or country? Country.
- A movie at the cinema or Netflix binge? Cinema.
- Text message or phone conversation? Text.
- Dog or cat? Cat.
- Fantasy or reality? Fantasy — though reality, in its own way, is also a kind of fantasy.
- Three things I’d take to a deserted island: A guitar, a surfboard, and a notebook.
