‘Also see Facebook’

Jewish Studies Research and the Social Media

Abstract

Social networks are saturated with knowledge that is relevant to academic research in Jewish studies. However, the flow of learning today is one-way: from academia to social networks and not the other way around. While academic publications are often shared on social networks, references to social networks can barely be found in scholarly journals in Jewish studies. This article focuses on the social network Facebook as a case study and contains three main parts. First, it presents a general snapshot of what is happening on Facebook in the context of Jewish studies in Israel. Second, it demonstrates the two aspects of Facebook’s effectiveness: functional (Facebook as an arena for disseminating information, finding information, problem-solving, and weaving connections) and transformative (Facebook as a lively arena that uniquely helps to shape academic knowledge and turn “closed” knowledge into “open” knowledge). Finally, this article calls for a change of situation in Jewish studies by increasing the use of Facebook as a functional tool, utilizing its transformative qualities, and assimilating the new knowledge that is taking shape in academic publications. The discussion is accompanied by references to bibliographical, ethical, and methodological aspects. The review of the current situation and the analysis of Facebook’s potential contributions to Jewish academic research is also relevant to other fields of study. This article is intended to stimulate discussion on the fine line between the “academic” and “non-academic” areas, including the possible fruitfulness of a meeting between the fields.