Tal Kohavi

Executive Editor and Director of Van Leer Institute Press

Dr. Tal Kohavi is the Executive Editor and Director of Van Leer Institute Press. Dr. Kohavi studied at the department of Sociology and Anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her dissertation, entitled “Between Dance and Anthropology,” awarded her PhD summa cum laude and the Ya’acov Bahat Prize for Outstanding Academic Books.
In her research Kohavi offered a new look at the concept of “subjectivity” in a way that gives priority to corporeal elements of the subject. Her dissertation was based on two years of field work and close observation through participation with KCDC — Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company.
During her studies she won a prize for the best MA paper; a prize for outstanding young scholars from the Friends of the Hebrew University; and a writing grant from the Ford Foundation, to mention a few.
For many years she has been teaching courses in anthropology and in feminism, as well as courses dealing with body, gender and sexuality, at the Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
For many years now Kohavi has been involved in academic research projects at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. For a decade she directed the Collective Identities research group founded by the late S.N. Eisenstadt, and from 2004 to 2008 she also co-directed the research group on Society in Israel: Contemporary Processes and Directions. As of 2009 Kohavi is Academic Director of the Anthropology Now research group. In addition she has been a member of academic committees of some of the leading projects in the Advanced Studies section of the Institute.
As of January 2011 Kohavi is the Executive Editor and Director of Van Leer Institute Press.