Dr. Gal Sofer
Department of the Arts - Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
My life before BGU:
I was born in Beer-Sheva and went to high school at Makif H. (which no longer exists…). I studied medicine here at Ben-Gurion University concurrently with master’s and doctoral degrees at the Goldstein-Goren Department of Jewish Thought.
Why BGU?
As someone who has already spent over a decade of his life at this university, I keep realizing again and again just how amazing it is. Wonderful people, inspiring researchers, and fantastic staff. I felt those advantages especially at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and once I set foot there, I just couldn’t leave…
My research:
My research focuses on a particularly interesting body of texts and books – magic books written from the Middle Ages to the present day. I study how magical knowledge crossed geographic and religious borders, between different languages (specifically Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, Italian, French, Greek and English). In addition to the texts, I examine the role visual language plays in this transmission of knowledge. I am particularly interested in demonic magic, the kind that makes use of demons.
An insight from my research:
Magic and magical thinking haven’t been relegated to somewhere in the distant past, even if we sometimes consign them to the margins or omit them from our history books.
Something that doesn't appear on my CV:
I really like baking, especially fancy French patisserie-style.
If I wasn’t a researcher, I would...
Be a bleary-eyed doctor in an emergency medicine department, barely staying awake on a few last drops of adrenaline. It’s a good thing I’m a researcher instead!
In Brief:
- Fauda or Big Brother? Fauda, I have trouble with reality TV.
- Yoga or CrossFit? Well… I’d like to do yoga, but neither at the moment.
- Steak or tofu? Both. Trying to reduce my consumption of red meat as much as possible.
- Car or train? Train! The perfect office for catching up on everything.
- Classical Europe or India? Florence, Italy.
- Night or morning? Morning.
- Winter or summer? A stormy rainy winter. When I’m indoors, of course.
- Film or play? A movie once a week, a play once a month. There’s just too much good stuff going on to miss.
- Phone call or text message? Text. Always.
- Savory or sweet? Savory, and then dessert. That’s how it usually goes, isn’t it?
- Cat or dog? Dog. I am raising two with my partner, so choosing a cat would be a betrayal (though I will always have a soft spot in my heart for cats)
2023-2024 New faculty members >>
