Elizabeth Shanks Alexander’s research focuses on the classic texts of rabbinic Judaism (midrash, Mishnah, and Talmud). Her most pressing questions have to do with how rabbinic literature functions as literature and how it conveys meaning. Orality theory has taught her to see rabbinic texts as moments in a larger conversation, and her work often tries to reconstruct the thinking that drives the conversation. She also makes use of literary theory to discern patterns in the texts that point towards themes and tropes. Alexander is particularly drawn towards theological and ethical topics in rabbinic literature. She has also written a lot about gender. Her courses cover a range of topics in Jewish religion, including ethics, law, gender, ritual, and theology. Her graduate courses treat these topics while also developing advanced skills in reading and interpreting various genres of rabbinic literature.

Her books include Transmitting Mishnah: The Shaping Influence of Oral Tradition, Gender and Timebound Commandments in Judaism and, as co-editor, Religious Studies and Rabbinics. Her articles include “Ritual on the Threshold: Mezuzah and the Crafting of Domestic and Civic Space.” Jewish Social Studies 20, no. 3 (Spring/Summer 2015): 100–130, “When the Dead Primp: Talmudic Gender as Theological Prompt.” Nashim 28 (Spring 2015): 120–33, and “When Cultural Assumptions about Texts and Reading and Logic Fail: Teaching Talmud as Liberal Arts,” in the 2017 volume, Learning How to Read Talmud: What It Looks Like and How It Happens.