Prof. Galia Patt -Shamir

Galia Patt-Shamir is  a scholar of Chinese and comparative philosophy whose work explores how classical Chinese thought can inform contemporary public life, education, and civic imagination. A professor at Tel Aviv University, she teaches Chinese philosophy and comparative philosophy in the Departments of Philosophy and East Asian Studies. Her research focuses on Confucian and Daoist philosophies of Way (dao 道), examining questions of self-cultivation, dialogue, ethical judgment, and the relationship between theory and practice. Through her scholarly and public work, she develops ways of bringing humanistic thinking beyond academia and into shared civic spaces. As Director of the Mandel Center for Public Humanities, Patt-Shamir leads initiatives that connect scholarship, education, and community life, cultivating forms of public engagement grounded in humanistic inquiry. She views public humanities as an ongoing movement between academy and society - a reciprocal process through which communities and the humanities reshape one another.