We had a great time kicking off #OAWeek with a panel of Penn Press journal editors (including from Change Over Time, @easmisc.bsky.social, @thejqr.bsky.social, and @sims-mss.bsky.social's Manuscript Studies) discussing their experiences with and thoughts on Open Access publishing!

This #OAweek event is starting soon! See you there.

Interested in our decision to make JQR open access? Join us for the OA Week event "Before and After the Open Access Transition: Penn Editors Share Their Experiences," featuring JQR's own Natalie Dohrmann.

Oct. 20, 11:30AM EST. Free, hybrid, open to the public.
library.upenn.edu/events/open-...

ICYMI!

Today!

Did you catch Sunny S. Yudkoff's 2024 JQR essay "Yankev Glatshteyn and the Threat of Yiddish Joy"?
muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...

If you're in the Philly area, check out her talk at Penn next week!
figs.sas.upenn.edu/events/2025/....

We are thrilled to announce that beginning with our winter issue in January 2026, the Jewish Quarterly Review will become fully open access, including future issues and our whole 136-year back catalog!

Learn more about this exciting change on the blog:
katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

(1/5) It's peer review week! #PRW2025 Thank you to those who have reviewed for JQR over the years. We would not be here without you.

Check out this thread for insights and reflections from the JQR editors on the peer review process, including advice for authors and reviewers. 🧵

In our current issue, Leslie Ribovich and Cara Rock-Singer stage a conversation with 20th century cultural critics James Baldwin and Rabbi Louis Finkelstein.

Learn more on the blog!
katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

These essays are free to access without a subscription thru 9/5. Get them now!

Simcha Gross, "From Togas to Turbans: Jewish Male Head Coverings between the Roman and Sasanian Worlds"

Edwin Seroussi, "Gossip, Rumors, Rehabilitation: Israel Najara's Shaming Revisited"

muse.jhu.edu/issue/55233

In a short note in JQR 115.3, Jonathan Howard examines the 12th c. MS that seems to evidence the origin of the Palestinian vocalization signs. He argues that it actually refers to cantillation signs, leaving the origin of the vocalization signs uncertain.

Take a look:
muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...

This summer Shai Secunda returned to JQR with his essay "The Babylonian Talmud, the Aramaic Incantation Bowls, and Babylonian Jewish Textuality."
muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...

You can revisit his earlier JQR essays on the Bavli here:
muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...

In our current issue, Tsiona Lida explores the concept of hope in the work of Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi and Walter Benjamin, and shows how their differing approaches illustrate the affective qualities of historical writing.

Don't miss her essay:
muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...

Why do Jews cover their heads?

In JQR 115.3, @simchagross.bsky.social looks at norms of Jewish male head covering as a proxy for cultural assimilation and difference in rabbinic Rome and Sasania.

Learn more on the blog and read his essay FREE thru September 5!
katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

Our summer issue is out and two essays are free for a limited time. Don't forget to peruse the TOC! 🌻

muse.jhu.edu/issue/55233

Pssst... have you heard?

Edwin Seroussi's essay in our current issue, "Gossip, Rumors, Rehabilitation: Israel Najara's Shaming Revisited," is free to read and download through September 5! Learn more on the blog.

katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

JQR 115.3 is here! We've got:
-Early Jewish head coverings
-The Talmud & the Aramaic incantation bowls
-Israel Naraja
-The Palestinian vocalization signs
-Yosef Yerushalmi & Walter Benjamin
-James Baldwin & Louis Finkelstein

Read the TOC +2 free essays!👇
katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...