A scholar and teacher of modern Jewish intellectual history with a current focus on France and North Africa, Dr. Kranz’s work brings together conversations in Jewish philosophy with those about Jews in the Muslim world, and emphasizes an intersectional understanding of Judaism in relation to other racialized and minority communities. At Rice, Mendel hopes to offer new courses that focus on religion and politics, and antisemitism and Islamophobia in comparative perspective. Dr. Kranz completed his PhD at the University of Chicago Divinity School.