Director, PhD Program
Department
of Sociology & Anthropology
Bar-Ilan
University
52900 Ramat
Gan, Israel
E-mail: ifsilber@mail.biu.ac.il
Tel:+972-3-5318379
Fax:+972-3-7384037
Education
and Degrees
|
1974 |
B.A.
Sociology and Psychology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem |
|
1976 |
M.A.
Sociology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem |
|
1979 |
M.A. Phil. Sociology, Hebrew University,
Jerusalem |
|
1987 |
Ph.D.
Sociology (summa cum laude), Hebrew University, Jerusalem |
Academic
Affiliations
|
1980-1983 |
Assistant,
Dept. of Sociology, Hebrew University |
|
1983-1986 |
Instructor,
Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology, Hebrew University |
|
1986-1988 |
Visiting
Scholar, Dept. of Anthropology, Harvard University |
|
1987-1988 |
Lecturer,
Social Studies, Harvard University |
|
1988-1989 |
Fellow,
Truman Institute, Hebrew University |
|
1990-1992 |
Fellow
Lecturer, Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology, Hebrew University |
|
1992-1997 |
Lecturer,
Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology, Hebrew University |
|
1994-1995 |
Visiting
Scholar, Dept. of Sociology, Princeton University |
|
1998 |
Guest,
Institute of Advanced Studies, Hebrew University, Jerusalem |
|
1998-To
Date |
Senior
Lecturer, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Bar-Ilan University (With
tenure, 2003). |
|
1999 |
Guest
Lecturer, Graduate Program of the Rothberg School for Foreign Students, the
Hebrew University (Spring Semester) |
|
1999-2006 |
Senior
Lecturer, the Graduate Program in Hermeneutics and Culture, Bar-Ilan
University |
|
2006-2007 |
Fellow,
Research Group on “Charity in Late Antiquity and the
Middle Ages: Continuity and Change,” Institute of Advanced Studies, Hebrew University,
Jerusalem. Fall semester. |
Other
Professional and Departmental Functions
|
1998-2001 |
Editorial
Board, Teoria ve-Bikoret (Theory
and Critique) |
|
1998 |
Adviser,
Encyclopedia of Monasticism, ed. By W.M. Johnson, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn
Publishers |
|
1999 |
Project
Director, Research Program on Collective Identity, Public Sphere and
Political Order, the Van Leer Institute, Jerusalem |
|
2001 |
Chair,
Graduate Program on Society and Community, Bar-Ilan University |
|
2001 |
Chair,
Committee for Undergraduate Studies, Department of Sociology &
Anthropology, Bar-Ilan University |
|
2001 |
Participant,
Rethinking Political Theology, Discussion Group, The Israeli Democracy
Institute. |
|
2002 |
Lecturer,
The First Spring School in Comparative History, The Institute for Advanced
Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (May 5-9) |
|
2003-To
Date |
Chair,
Doctoral Studies, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Bar-Ilan University |
|
2003 |
Chair,
Sociology Committee, Israel Science Foundation |
|
2004-2006 |
Chair,
Department of Sociology & Anthropology, |
|
2005-To
Date |
Editorial
Board, Migzar Shlishi ve Hevra Ezrahit
be Israel (Third
Sector and Civil Society in Israel). |
|
2006-2008 |
Participant,
“Morality/Body/Society,” Reading Group, The Van Leer
Institute. |
Awards
|
1982 |
Alex
Berger Prize, Faculty of Social Sciences, Hebrew University |
|
1985-1986 |
Israeli
Research Foundation Fellowship |
|
1987-1988 |
Pearlman
Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Harvard University |
|
1988 |
The Alex
Berger Prize for an Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation in the Social Sciences,
Hebrew University |
|
1989-1990 |
Lady
Davis Fellowship |
|
1991 |
Faculty
of Social Sciences Research Award, Hebrew University |
|
1992-1993 |
Golda
Meir Award |
|
1994-1995 |
USIEF
Fulbright American Research Fellowship |
|
2001 |
Grant,
The Faculty of Social Sciences, Bar-Ilan University |
|
2001-2003 |
Grant,
Israeli Academy of Science |
Current
Projects
§
Elite Philanthropy in Israel: A Culture of Giving in the
Making? (field research and related articles)
§
Cultures of Giving: A Comparative Historical Perspective (book).
Courses Taught
|
B.A. |
Sociology
of Religion (elective) |
|
B.A. |
Sociological
Theories (compulsory) |
|
B.A. |
The
Sociology of Gift-Giving (elective) |
|
B.A |
The
Sociology of Max Weber Today (elective) |
|
B.A. |
Non-profit
Organizations and Civil Society (elective) |
|
M.A. |
Issues in
Comparative Historical Sociology (elective) |
|
M.A. |
Civil
Society (elective) |
|
M.A. |
Readings
in Sociological Thought: Contemporary Cultural Analysis (compulsory) |
|
M.A. |
The
Meaning of Money and the Culture of Giving (elective) |
|
M.A. |
Issues in
Sociological Theory (compulsory) |
|
M.A. |
Theories
of Culture: Sociological and Anthropological Perspectives (compulsory) |
|
M.A. |
Sociology
of the Gift (elective research seminar) |
|
M.A. M.A. |
Cultures
of Giving in an era of Market Economy (elective course) Non-profit
Organizations and Civil Society (elective research seminar) |
PUBLICATIONS
Book (author)
I.F. Silber, Virtuosity, Charisma and Social Order: A
Comparative Sociological Study of Monasticism in Theravada Buddhism and
Medieval Catholicism. Cambridge Cultural Social Studies. New York --
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, x +250 pages, 1995.hy
Book (editor)
S.N. Eisenstadt and I.F. Silber, (eds.), Cultural
Traditions and Worlds of Knowledge: Explorations in the Sociology of Knowledge.
Philadelphia: JAI, Studies in Knowledge and Society, 238 pages, 1988.
Book (Scientific
Editing)
Marcel Mauss,, Essai sur le Don [1924],
translated into Hebrew by Hila Karas, with introduction and scientific editing
by Ilana F. Silber. (Tel Aviv: Resling), 2005.
Chapters in Books
I.F. Silber, “Soteriology and Knowledge: Some Issues in the
Structuration of Symbolic Domains,” pp.225-238, in S.N. Eisenstadt and I.F.
Silber (eds.), Cultural Traditions and Worlds of Knowledge: Explorations in
the Sociology of Knowledge. Philadelphia: JAI, Studies in Knowledge and
Society, 1988.
I.F. Silber, “The Spirit’ of Capitalism: Max Weber and
Recent Trends in Comparative Historical Sociology,” pp. 89-100, in M.
Ben-Sasson and N. Gross (eds.), Religion and Economy. Jerusalem: Mercaz
Shazar, 1994 (Hebrew).
I.F. Silber, "Modern Philanthropy: Reassessing the
Viability of a Maussian Perspective," pp. 134-150, in Nick Allen and Wendy
James (eds.), Marcel Mauss Today. Oxford, New York: Berghahn, 1998.
Republished in French translation: “La
philanthropie moderne à la lumière de Mauss,” Revue
du M.A.U.S.S. 15: 133-149, 2000.
Republished again in French translation in P. Chanial ed., La
société vue du don: manuel de sociologie anti-utilitariste
appliquée. Paris: Editions de la Découverte, pp. 364-380, 2008
I.F. Silber, "Beyond Purity and Danger: Gift-Giving in
the Monotheistic Religions," in Toon Vandevelde (ed.), Gifts and
Interests (Louvain: Peeters), pp. 115-132, 2000.
I.F. Silber, "The Gift Relationship in an Era of
'Loose' Solidarities," in Eliezer Ben-Rafael (ed.), Identity, Culture
and Globalization (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers),
pp.384-400, 2001.
I.F. Silber, "“Echoes of Sacrifice? Repertoires of
Giving in the Great Religions.” In A. Baumgarten (ed.), Sacrifice in Religious
Experience. Numen Book Series: Studies in Religion,(Leiden, The
Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers), pp. 291-312, 2002.
I. F. Silber, “Introduction:
The Gift’s Charms and Paradoxes.” (Hebrew). In :Marcel Mauss,, Essai sur le Don [1924], translated into Hebrew by
Hila Karas, with introduction and scientific editing by Ilana F. Silber. (Tel
Aviv: Resling), pp. 7-30, 2005.
Republished in French
translation: “Prologue: Sortilèges et paradoxes du don,” Revue du M.A.U.S.S. 27, 1 (2006),
pp. 39-56.
I.F. Silber, “Pour
une approche non-unitaire de la théorie générale,” in
Alain Caillé and Stéphane Dufoix (eds.), Une théorie sociologique générale est-elle
pensable? (Paris: La Découverte), pp. 85-101, 2004. Republished in English translation: “Towards a Non-Unitary
Approach to Sociological Theory,” European
Journal of Social Theory 10, 2: 220-232, 2007.
I.F. Silber, “Registres et
répertoires du don: avec mais aussi après Mauss?,” in Eliana Magnani (ed.), Don et sciences sociales.
Théories et pratiques croisées. (Dijon:
Editions de l’Université de Dijon), pp. 124-144, 2007.
I. F. Silber, “Charisma
and Institution-Building in an Organizational Field in Formation: The Case of
Israeli Philanthropy.” In Hana Herzog and Tal Kokhavi (ed.), Generations, Spaces and Identities:
Perspectives on the Construction of Society and Culture in Israel. (Jerusalem: The Van Leer Institute),
pp. 261-282 (Hebrew), 2007.
I.F. Silber, “Dissent through Holiness: The Case of the
Radical Renouncer in Theravada Buddhist Countries, Numen, 28(2):
164-193, 1981.
Reprinted in S.N. Eisenstadt, R. Kahane, D. Shulman (eds.), Orthodoxy,
Heterodoxy and Dissent in India. Berlin: Mouton, 1984, pp. 85-110.
I.F. Silber, “‘Opting Out’ in Theravada Buddhism and
Medieval Catholicism: A Comparative Look at Monasticism as Alternative
Structure,” 15: 251-277, Religion,1985.
I.F. Silber, “Monasticism
and the ‘Protestant Ethic’: Asceticism, Ideology and Wealth in the Medieval
West,” British Journal of Sociology, 44(1): 103-123, 1993.
I.F. Silber, “Space, Fields, Boundaries: The Rise of Spatial
Metaphors in Contemporary Sociological Theory,” Social Research, 62(2):
323-355,1995.
I.F. Silber, “Gift-Giving in the Great Traditions: The Case
of Donations to Monasteries in the Medieval West,” European Journal of
Sociology, 36(2):209-243, 1995.
Republished in shorter version and French translation in Revue du M.A.U.S.S., 8:243-266, 1996.
I.F. Silber, "Marcel Mauss's Essai sur le Don: A Review
Essay," SoziologiaIsraelit (Israeli Sociology), 2, 2:
685-694 (In Hebrew), 2000.
I.F. Silber, "Criticizing Critical Sociology : From
Pragmatic to Cultural Sociology," Teoria Vebikoret (Theory and
Criticism), 19:217-239 (In Hebrew), 2001.
I.F. Silber, “Pragmatic Sociology as
Cultural Sociology: Beyond Repertoire Theory?,” European Journal of
Social Theory, 6, 4: 427-449, 2003.
Gidron, Benjamin, Hagai Katz, Hadar Bar-Mor, Yossi Katan , Ilana F. Silber , Motti Telias.
“Through a New Lense: The Third Sector and Israeli Society.” Israel Studies
6, 1: 20-59, 2003.
I.F. Silber, "Entre
Mauss et Veyne: pour une sociologie historique comparée du don,"
Sociologie et sociétés
36, 2: 189-205, 2004.
I. F. Silber, “Towards a Non-Unitary
Approach to Sociological Theory,” European
Journal of Social Theory 10, 2: 220-232, 2007.
Also appeared in French: “Pour une approche non-unitaire de
la théorie générale,” in Alain Caillé and
Stéphane Dufoix (eds.), Une
théorie sociologique générale est-elle pensable?
(Paris: La Découverte), pp. 85-101, 2004
I.F. Silber, “A New Era for Philanthropy? The Case of Israel.” Civil
Society and Third Sector in Israel 2, 1: 9-32, 2008 (Hebrew)
I.F. Silber, “Bourdieu’s Gift to Gift Theory: An Unacknowledged
Trajectory,” Sociological Theory.(forthcoming)
Book Reviews
Colin Campbell, The Myth of Social Action (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press,1996) in Contemporary Sociology, September
1997, pp. 657-659
Lutz Kaelber, Schools of Asceticism: Ideology and
Organization in Medieval Religious Communities (University Park, Penn.: The
Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998), in American Journal of Sociology,
105 (2): 592-594, 1999.
Other Publications
I.F. Silber and Zeev Roznack, The History of the Nonprofit
Sector in Israel, (Beer Sheva: The Israeli Center for Research on the Third
Sector, Ben Gurion University), 53 pages, 1999.
S.N. Eisenstadt, L. Roniger and I.F. Silber (eds.), Collective
Identity, Public Sphere and Political Order (Jerusalem: The Van Leer
Institute), 81 pages,1999.
Papers Presented at Scientific Conferences
“Modern Philanthropy: Reassessing the Viability of a
Maussian Perspective,” paper presented at the Conference on Marcel Mauss Today,
British Center for Durkheimian Studies and the Institute of Social and Cultural
Anthropology, Oxford, September 1996.
“The Field of Giving: Toward a Comparative Historical
Approach,” paper presented at a conference on L’Heritage de Marcel Mauss,
College de France and Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Paris, May 22-24, 1997.
“Beyond Purity and Danger: Gift-Giving in the Monotheistic
Religions,” paper presented at the colloquium on Gifts and Interests,
Universite catholique de Louvain, April 3-4, 1998.
“Echoes of Sacrifice? Repertoires of Giving in the Great
Religions.” Paper presented at the conference on Alternatives to Sacrifice,
Minerva Center for Religious Anthropology, Bar-Ilan University, February 14-19,
1999.
“The History of the Nonprofit Sector in Israel.” (With Zeev
Roznak), paper presented at the conference on Characteristics of the Third
Sector in Israel, Israel Center for Third Sector Research, Ben Gurion
University, March 10-11,1999.
"Convergences and Cleavages in the
Study of Cultural Repertoires: Theorizing the Inner Structure of Tool-kits,
Symbolic Boundaries and Regimes of Justification", Annual Meeting of the
American Sociological Association, Anaheim, CA, August 18-22, 2001.
Published in summary version in Culture
(newsletter of the ASA section for the Sociology of Culture) and Comparative
Historical Sociology (newsletter of the ASA section for Comparative Historical
Sociology).
“Generations and
Processes in the Formation of the Philanthropic Field in Israel,” Paper delivered at the conference
“Generations, Spaces and Identities: Perspectives on the Construction of
Society and Culture in Israel,”
in honour of S.N. Eisenstadt Eightieth birthday. Dec. 23-4, The Van Leer
Institute, Jerusalem, 2002.
“Towards a Non-Unitary General Sociological
Theory.” Paper prepared
for the Symposium “Does the Prospect of a General Sociological Theory Still
Mean Anything in Times of Globalization? CNRS- Geode (Group for the Study and
Observation of Democracy, June 9-10, 2003, Paris. Ms. available
“Issues and Developments in Bourdieu’s
Theory of the Gift, ”Paper delivered at the symposium “The Social World as seen
by Bourdieu,” at the Van Leer Institute, November 26-27, 2003.
“NGO’s Active in the
Field of Food Distribution in Israel: a Survey Comparison of Trends in the
Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv Area.” (with Netta Bashan). Presented at the ICTR Annual
Spring Meetings, Ben-Gurion University, 2001
“Religion and
Philanthropy in Israel: A Multifaceted and Changing Relationship,” Workshop on Philanthropy in the Mediterranean Area. Religions and
Civil Society between Past and Present, Program for
International Studies in Philanthropy, University of Bologna, October 15, 2004.
“Bourdieu’s Gift to
Gift Theory: An Unacknowledged Trajectory.” The 37th World Congress
of the International Institute of Sociology, Stockholm, July 5, 2005.
“Registre(s) et
Repertoire(s) du don: Avec mais aussi après Mauss,? Paper delivered at
the symposium “Don et sciences sociales. Théories et pratiques
croisées. Centre d’études médiévales, Auxerre,
France, January 27-28, 2006
“Fields of Giving:
Historicizing and Theorizing the Gift in the Great Religions,” Paper delivered
at the iconference on “Charity and Piety in the
Middle East in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages: Continuity and
Transformation," Institute of Advanced Studies, Jerusalem February
11-12, 2007.
“The Angry Gift: A
Neglected Facet of Philanthropy.” Paper delivered for the 38th Congress of the
International Institute of Sociology, Budapest (June 26-29).