Information about the Program
What are "Hermeneutics and Culture"?
Established in 1999, the MA/PhD Program in Hermeneutics and Culture at Bar-Ilan University was the first academic program in Israel to offer advanced degrees in this field. The program offers a wide array of theoretical approaches for interpreting and analyzing every domain of human activity. Its curriculum is grounded in a broad understanding of the term “culture” — encompassing not only art, literature, and music, but also the full range of human practices shaped by language, institutions, and social conventions.
Our core assumption is that most things can be interpreted and examined as cultural phenomena, from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Thanks to this rich theoretical and methodological scope, students in the program enjoy exceptional freedom in choosing their research topics and developing original approaches to their fields of study.
What do we study in the Hermeneutics and Culture Program?
The program explores interpretive and cultural frameworks in all their dimensions: theories of interpretation, textual analysis, and the examination of institutions and social practices. These domains all revolve around interpreting facts, texts, cultures, and human behavior — while bridging disciplines such as the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, Jewish studies, and law.
These emphases are reflected in elective courses, areas of specialization, and research supervision. The program brings together scholars whose intellectual curiosity leads them to explore diverse epistemologies and theoretical tools in interdisciplinary dialogue.
