TIJS Welcomes New Faculty Director, Prof. Ellie Schainker
Hello to the TIJS community—my name is Ellie Schainker, and I am the new Judith London Evans Director of the Tam Institute for Jewish Studies. Though new to the director role, I have been a professor of modern Jewish History at Emory for the past fifteen years. My research focuses on East European Jewry prior to the Holocaust, the majority of whom lived under Russian imperial rule. I have published two monographs since my time at Emory, the first on Jewish religious conversions to Christianity in the shtetls of Eastern Europe, and the second on Jewish religious reforms in tsarist Russia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. My scholarly interests were nurtured as an undergraduate History major when I studied Russian language and worked in informal Jewish education in the former Soviet Union (FSU) and in Germany among Jewish emigres from the FSU. My research is strongly grounded in archival methods, and I have traveled extensively over the past twenty years in Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Israel working in a variety of libraries and archives. Emory has been a wonderful home for me as a Jewish Studies scholar, and I am excited to lead TIJS in furthering our mission of connecting scholars and students in the exploration of Jewish civilization and culture.
As I step into my new role, I want to thank our outgoing chair Miriam Udel who led the Tam Institute with strength, creativity, and compassion during the past several years. She rebuilt face-to-face community post-COVID and supported our Jewish Studies community after October 7th and the global rise in antisemitism. Prof. Udel recommitted to countering antisemitism through more pride and commitment to engaging Jewish texts, culture, and ideas—the mission of Emory Jewish Studies.
TIJS is thrilled to welcome Emily Danzig as our new executive director! Emily previously worked in higher education at Agnes Scott College, and she brings a background in Jewish communal work as well. We are thrilled to have Emily at the helm and already knee-deep in a robust line-up of programs for the 2026-27 academic year and furthering our campus and community partnerships. Emily’s transition to TIJS has been eased by the tremendous institutional wisdom and experience of our dedicated staff: Malory Mibab, curricular coordinator & Brent Buckley, communications and events coordinator. We thank them for strengthening TIJS every day.
This summer marked the third iteration of the TIJS Poland study abroad program. A continuation of my Spring course Jews of Eastern Europe, the two-week Poland trip immersed students in the millennium history of Polish Jewish life and took a deep dive into the 20th and 21st century experiences of Polish Jews. Students explored the history and legacy of the Holocaust; Shoah survivors in the Soviet period; and the renewal of Jewish life in Poland since the fall of communism. Students critically engaged efforts toward Holocaust memorialization and reconciliation in contemporary Poland by meeting and speaking with journalists, social-media influencers, cultural and political activists, and students and professors of Jewish Studies. The incredible trip and student engagement were shared via an Emory College Instagram takeover and featured in Emory’s alumni magazine. Thanks to the partnership of our generous donors, this travel experience was subsidized to meet the financial need of interested participants.
This year, Jewish Studies at Emory is celebrating its 50th birthday! To celebrate this milestone, Emory Libraries launched a major library exhibition in the Schatten Gallery, curated by Jewish Studies librarian Dr. Katalin Rac in collaboration with Prof. Eric Goldstein. “Tablet to Tablet” highlights fifty years of Emory scholarship in Jewish Studies by focusing on the library resources that make such study possible. The opening gala event for the exhibition took place on September 17. We are planning a faculty showcase and other programming throughout the life of the exhibit for Fall 2026 and early Spring 2027.
This year also marks fifty years of the Southern Jewish Historical Society, which Prof. Eric Goldstein (History/TIJS) currently serves as President. TIJS is hosting the organization’s annual conference, planned to attract 120 scholars and invested community members to our campus in mid-October.
Prof. Benjamin Nathans of the University of Pennsylvania will deliver this year’s Rothschild endowed lecture on November 11. Prof. Nathans will give a public lecture titled “Refuseniks and Rights-Defenders: Jews and the Soviet Dissident Movement”. A prominent scholar of East European Jewish history, Prof. Nathan’s talk draws on his recent Pulitzer-prize winning book on the history of the Soviet dissident movement. This endowed annual public lecture memorializes The Temple’s late Rabbi Jacob Rothschild and his dedication to advancing the cause of Civil Rights.
This past year saw the publication of several TIJS faculty books. In Fall 2025, Prof. Miriam Udel’s Modern Jewish Worldmaking Through Yiddish Children’s Literature appeared and won the National Jewish Book Award in Jewish Education and Identity. This past January, Prof. Craig Perry’s Slavery and the Jews of Medieval Egypt was published. And this past summer, my book Rites of Empire: Reforming Judaism in Imperial Russia was published. Book celebrations were held for Profs. Udel and Perry, and we’ll continue the tradition with a book celebration for Rites of Empire hosted by Emory’s Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry this winter. We are excited to welcome Prof. Geoffrey Levin back from the Koch Junior Fellowship in History at the University of Oxford this past year.
As I step into the faculty director role, I am thrilled to be joined by a strong executive committee of faculty leadership. Prof. Bill Gilders (Religion) will continue as Director of Graduate Studies, and Prof. Geoffrey Levin (TIJS/MESAS) will take over as Director of Undergraduate Studies. I am excited to work with Bill, Geoff and our faculty on continuing to strengthen our undergraduate program and build a robust intellectual community for our graduate students straddling different disciplinary homes on campus.
We encourage you to attend one of our events on campus or virtually, engage with our faculty’s scholarship, and continue to support Jewish Studies teaching at Emory. TIJS wishes everyone a healthy and peaceful new year!
Ellie R. Schainker
Judith London Evans Faculty Director
Published 10/9/26