![Pelia Werth pelia_werth_picture](https://contending-with-crises.huji.ac.il/sites/default/files/styles/190_250/public/contendingwithcrises/files/pelia_werth_picture.jpg?m=1724973608&itok=-y3M9jw9)
Pelia Werth earned her BA in English and French from the University of Oxford and an MA in Medieval Studies from Leeds University. Her MA thesis focused on interactions between Christian and Jewish women in medieval England. She is currently a PhD candidate at Johns Hopkins University under the supervision of Dr. Anne Lester. Her PhD research explores pilgrimage sites in the Holy Land that were 'shared' between different religious communities, c. 1050-1300. Her thesis will examine how these sites - and the broader pilgrimage routes of which they were part - allowed Jews, Christians, and Muslims to come into contact with one another, and how this helped shape both individual pilgrimage experiences and interfaith relations during the period more broadly. Prior to beginning her PhD, Pelia taught in a variety of settings, including as a French language instructor at the University of Kansas, and has also spent time studying at both orthodox and egalitarian yeshivot in Jerusalem. She is very excited to be conducting research in Israel and to join the project as a visiting researcher.