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Pamela Nadell Patrick Clendenen Chair in Women's and Gender History Department of History

Additional Positions at AU
Director, Jewish Studies Program
Degrees
PhD, History, The Ohio State University
MA, History, The Ohio State University
BA, Hebraic Studies, Douglass College, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Languages Spoken
Hebrew
Bio
Pamela S. Nadell holds the Patrick Clendenen Chair in Women's and Gender History and is Director of the Jewish Studies Program. A specialist in American Jewish history and women’s history, she teaches a variety of courses in Jewish civilization. Her awards include AU’s highest faculty award, Scholar/Teacher of the Year (2007). Pamela Nadell’s books include America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today (W.W. Norton, 2019), named Jewish Book of the Year by the Jewish Book Council. Reviewed in the New York Times, America’s Jewish Women was praised as “a welcome addition to the American historical canon.” Past president of the Association for Jewish Studies, Nadell’s other titles include Women Who Would Be Rabbis: A History of Women's Ordination, 1889–1985 (Beacon Press, 1998). She consults for museums including the National Museum of American Jewish History and the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream. She lectures widely, frequently appears on podcasts, and has written for, among others, the Washington Post, The Conversation, and Hadassah Magazine. In 2017, she testified before Congress about antisemitism on college campuses. She is currently writing a history of antisemitism in America
See Also
America's Jewish Women
History Department
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Teaching

Fall 2024

  • CORE-105 Complex Problems Seminar: Antisemitism: Enduring Hatred

  • HIST-473 American Jewish History

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Research Interests

An internationally acclaimed scholar, Pamela Nadell's research span the breadth of the 350 years of the American Jewish experience with a special focus on women, gender, and religion.

Honors, Awards, and Fellowships

  • Lee Max Friedman Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession, American Jewish Historical Society  
  • American University Scholar/Teacher of the Year   
  • Finalist, National Jewish Book Award in Women’s Studies for Women Who Would be Rabbis,
  • Anti-Defamation League Community Leadership Award (Washington, DC Regional Office, 1995).
    •  

Films/Documentaries

  • Historical consultant to the documentary And the Gates Opened: Women in the Rabbinate, produced by Diva Communications for the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, premiered on ABC-TV in January 2005; the film received an Emmy for religious programming
  • Consultant to the film, The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (1998).

Selected Publications

  • America's Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today.  W.W. Norton, 2019.
  • Feminism, American Style: Jewish Women and the Making of a Revolution.  University of Haifa Ruderman Program in American Jewish Studies.  English and Hebrew.  http://ajs.haifa.ac.il/images/Nadell_Research_Paper_final.pdf   
  • Making Women's Histories: Beyond National Perspectives, co-edited with Kate Haulman.  New York: New York University Press, 2013    
  • Three Hundred and Fifty Years: An Album of Jewish Memory, co-authored with Michael Feldman, Karla Goldman, Scott Martin Kosofsky, Jonathan D. Sarna, and Gary P. Zola.  New York and Cincinnati: American Jewish Historical Society and Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, 2005.     
  • American Jewish Women's History: A Reader, editor. New York: New York University Press, 2003.     
  • Women and American Judaism: Historical Perspectives, co-edited with Jonathan D. Sarna. Hanover, NH: Brandeis University Press/University Press of New England, 2001.     
  • Women Who Would Be Rabbis: A History of Women's Ordination, 1889-1985. Boston: Beacon Press, 1998.      
  • Conservative Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1988.

Professional Presentations

  • Association for Jewish Studies Distinguished Lecturer  
  • Public and Academic Lectures and Conference Presentations  
    • At U.S. Colleges and Universities: Appalachian State University, Baltimore Hebrew University, Boston University, Brandeis University, Dickinson College, Florida Atlantic University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Howard University, Jewish Theological Seminary, Princeton University, Michigan State University, Muhlenberg College, Ohio State University, Skidmore College, St. Leo University (Florida), Temple University, Tulane University, University of Chicago, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylavnia, University of Southern California, Wayne State University
    • In Israel: Talkhouse (Tel Aviv), University of Haifa, World Congress of Jewish Studies (Hebrew University, Jerusalem)  
    • In Europe: Central European University (Budapest), European Association of Jewish Studies,  Karl-Franzens-Universitat (Graz, Austria), Oxford University, Tarbut: Conference of German-Speaking Jews (Schloss Elmau), University of Munich  
    • Presentations and Conference Papers: American Academy of Religion, American Historical Association, American Jewish Arcdhives, American Jewish Historical Society Biennial Scholars Conference, American Library Association, Association for Jewish Studies, Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Center for Jewish History, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Council of American Jewish Museums, National Museum of American Jewish History, Rabbinical Assembly, Southern Jewish Historical Society, Women of Reform Judaism, Women's League for Conservative Judaism  
  • Presented more than forty public lectures during the 350th anniversary celebrations of Jewish life in America (2004-2005)  
  • Popular lecturer in synagogues, Jewish community centers, and for Jewish communal organizations

Professional Services

  • President, Association for Jewish Studies (2015-2017)           
  • Founding historians' team, National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia, PA.   
  • Chair, Academic Council, American Jewish Historical Society (2000-2003)
  • Congressional testimony: House Judiciary Committee hearings on antisemitism on the college campus (November 2017)

AU Experts

Area of Expertise

Antisemitism; Jewish history, especially American Jewish history; Jewish women’s history; Judaism; American Jewry

Additional Information

Pamela Nadell’s books include America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today (W.W. Norton, 2019), named Jewish Book of the Year by the Jewish Book Council. Reviewed in the New York Times, America’s Jewish Women was praised as “a welcome addition to the American historical canon.” Past president of the Association for Jewish Studies, Nadell’s other titles include Women Who Would Be Rabbis: A History of Women's Ordination, 1889–1985 (Beacon Press, 1998). She consults for museums including the National Museum of American Jewish History and the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream. She lectures widely, frequently appears on podcasts, and has written for, among others, the Washington Post, The Conversation, and Hadassah Magazine. In 2017, she testified before Congress about antisemitism on college campuses. She is currently writing a history of antisemitism in America.

For the Media

To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

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