Lynn Rita Davidman (born 1955) is an

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sociologist. She is the distinguished professor of modern

Jewish studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; ) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (especially Jewish history), Middle Eastern studies, Asian studies, ...

and professor of sociology at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

Early life and education

Davidman was born in

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to a Modern Orthodox Jewish family. After her mother's death when she was 13 years old, Davidman began to question her religious upbringing, which caused a divide between her and her family. She majored in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

and later earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from the

University of Chicago Divinity School The University of Chicago Divinity School is a graduate professional school at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries. Formed under Baptist auspices, the school today is without ...

and PhD from

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

in 1986.

Career

After earning her PhD, Davidman was hired as an assistant professor of sociology by the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

. While there, she published ''Tradition in a Rootless World: Women Turn to Orthodox Judaism'' through the

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

. The book examined why secular women turn Orthodox by comparing the lives of those at a

Lubavitch Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

women's seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, with members of the

Lincoln Square Synagogue The Lincoln Square Synagogue is a Modern Orthodox congregation and synagogue located at 180 Amsterdam Avenue between West 68th and 69th Streets in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1964, the synagogue ...

. The book earned Davidman the 1992 National Jewish Book Award for Contemporary Jewish Life & Practice. She was subsequently hired at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

as an assistant professor of Judaic studies,

American civilization The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization began and wars and epidemics largely decimated Indigenous societie ...

, sociology, and

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...

. In this position, Davidman collaborated with Shelly Tenenbaum to co-author ''Feminist Perspectives on Jewish Studies'' through the

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. Their book examined the development of feminist scholarship in various fields within Jewish studies with a focus on gender. She was shortly thereafter promoted to associate professor and began writing her following book, ''Growing Up Motherless: Stories of Lives Interrupted.'' The book took her three years to gather data from 60 men and women from various backgrounds whose mothers died when they were 10 through 15 years old. The result of her lengthy research showed a common theme of feeling left out and religion not providing comfort in the face of loss. Davidman was promoted to professor of Judaic studies in 2002, a role she stayed in until 2008, when she joined the

as their Robert M. Beren Distinguished Professor of Modern Jewish Studies and professor of sociology. At the University of Kansas, Davidman conducted another research-based book titled ''Becoming Un-Orthodox: Stories of Ex-Hasidic Jews,'' where she surveyed 40 men and women born into ultra-Orthodox Hasidic communities who had become secular. She took a sabbatical following the publication of her book.

Personal life

Davidman is married to Neal Horrell.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidman, Lynn Living people 1955 births Jewish women writers University of Kansas faculty Barnard College alumni University of Chicago Divinity School alumni Brandeis University alumni Brown University faculty Princeton University faculty University of Pittsburgh faculty Date of birth missing (living people)