Thesis Title: New Jews and Muslims in Germany: Towards a Theory of Minority Conversion
Supervisors: Professor Heather Hamill and Dr Mathis Ebbinghaus
Jordan is a researcher interested in the nexus of the individual, state, and society. After completing undergraduate studies in History and Political Science in the United States, he pivoted from a career in international relations and diplomacy at the German Federal Foreign Office, and returned to academia to study Germany’s Jewish community at Oxford. He is interested in the identities and behaviours of religious and ethnic minorities in the West, particularly in Germany.
Jordan’s work aims to engage with the phenomenon of religious conversion as a type of boundary crossing, or a shift in societal positionality. Specifically, the action of converting from a majority identity to a minority religion presents itself as a notable transformation of an individual’s group belonging and social experience.
The case of conversions to Judaism in Germany, loaded with clear historical and political meaning, is explored to elucidate the nature, motivations, and social effects of conversion as a positionality shift.
Research Interests: Sociology of religion, political sociology, qualitative methods, racial and ethnic studies, Europe, Middle East
Previous Education: BA History and Political Science, Swarthmore College; MSc Sociology, University of Oxford
