Andrew Berns
Ph.D. Candidate (ABD)
aberns@sas.upenn.edu
Education
BA, Reed College (2002); MPhil, University of Cambridge (2004)
Fields
Early Modern Jewish History; European Intellectual History 1300-1600; Medieval and Modern Jewish History
Research
My dissertation examines the biblical commentaries of Jewish and Christian physicians in late Renaissance Italy. By exploring natural philosophical treatises, medical commentaries, letters, dictionaries, and encyclopedias the project studies changes in medical education during the sixteenth century, medical culture in early modern Italy, and the connections between natural philosophy and biblical studies in the early modern world. I am also interested in and conduct research on the history of pre-modern medicine, the study of Jewish antiquities in the Renaissance, travel literature, early modern lexicography, and Jewish-Christian relations.
