Sam Shuman

Education

• PhD (Sociocultural Anthropology), University of Michigan
• Graduate Certificate in Judaic Studies, University of Michigan
• MA (Sociocultural Anthropology), University of Michigan
• BA (Sociocultural Anthropology), Columbia University
• BA (Jewish Gender and Women's Studies), The Jewish Theological Seminary

Biography

My research situates Hasidic Judaism within a global context and, in so doing, allows us to rethink larger questions in political theology about race and religion, global capitalism, gender and sexuality, sovereignty and empire. To do this, I toggle between different methodologies: ethnography, archival research, and text analysis.

I focus on contemporary Hasidic Jews and the various forms of mediation that Hasidic brokers perform in everyday life. My first project, Cutting Out the Middleman, funded by the Social Science Research Council, the National Science Foundation, and Fulbright, focused on Antwerp’s regulation of the diamond sector and the restructuring of its Hasidic workforce. I spent my time in trading offices, governmental offices, synagogues, and cafes, to understand how the rise of online platforms and the state’s capture of unreported taxes, led to the “disintermediation” of diamond brokers.

My second project, Of Mice and Hasidic Men, concerns the various forms of saintly mediation performed by a dead Hungarian Hasidic miracle-worker named Reb Shayele (1851-1925). Though long considered to protect against the infestation of mice in Hasidic homes and businesses, Shayele has assumed significance among Hasidic men in the last decade. Shayele has been resurrected as a patron saint of hospitality and protection against “intruders.” By praying at Shayele’s gravesite and using his amulets and incantations, contemporary Hasidic men seek to ward off unwelcome encounters with agents of the state, such as police, traffic enforcement agents, and building inspectors. I have conducted ethnographic research among 50,000 pilgrims at Shayele’s gravesite in Hungary, explored hagiographic materials and newspapers in Hebrew, Yiddish, and Hungarian, and reviewed extensive social media content.