Professor Pamela Nadell teaches Jewish history at American University, directs its Jewish Studies Program, and is a recipient of the university’s highest award, “Scholar/Teacher of the Year.” She has taught courses on ancient and medieval Jewish civilization, modern Jewish civilization, American Jewish history, Jewish women’s history, modern Jewish literature, Holocaust history, and antisemitism. She brings her deep knowledge of Jewish history, culture, and education to her consulting work for museums, organizations, and academic projects.

Posts

Inside the powerful task force spearheading Trump’s assault on colleges, DEI

/in

In Inside the powerful task force spearheading Trump’s assault on colleges, DEI, The Washington Post quotes Pamela Nadell.  The story reported how the federal government’s Antisemitism Task Force was overreaching its aim of rooting out antisemitism on college campuses to advance a long-standing conservative demand to reform higher education.  Nadell said: “Ultimately, I am deeply worried that under the pretext of ending hatred of Jewish people — an historic, worldwide problem — the antisemitism task force’s demands to dismantle DEI as the root of antisemitism will further isolate Jews in American colleges and univerities.  Jews will be blamed for its abolition.  But antisemitism will not disappear from the campus.”

Read more
JTA

Scholars Have Told Important Jewish Stories with the NEH’s Support. What Happens to Them Now?

/in

In her op-ed in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Historian Pamela Nadell, author of Antisemitism, an American Tradition, shares a stark warning: Cuts to the NEH’s Public Scholars program risk silencing essential stories — from 16th-century Jewish life in colonial Mexico to 1930s Hollywood spy rings — that help us confront the rise of antisemitism and understand America’s diverse past.

Read more
JTA

Everyone Has a Plan to Fight Antisemitism. Few Have Studied What Actually Works.

/in

This article from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency explores how certain programs aim to address the roots of antisemitism and promote a broader understanding of its impact on society, with Pamela S. Nadell providing insight into the role of education in combating this pervasive issue.

Read more
insidehigheredlogo

New Study Highlights Campus Antisemitism ‘Hot Spots’

/in

An Inside Higher Ed report on a Brandeis University study reveals significant variations in Jewish students’ perceptions of antisemitism across college campuses. Pamela Nadell, director of the Jewish studies program at American University, emphasizes that rising campus antisemitism reflects a broader national phenomenon, citing past incidents and federal efforts to combat the issue.

Read more
TheChronicleofHigherEducationLogo

What Jewish College Students Have to Say About the Campus Climate

/in

In The Chronicle of Higher Education, Pamela Nadell, a professor at American University, expressed concern over survey findings that 30 percent of students at colleges with the “highest hostility” reported encountering anti-Israel hostility from faculty members. “That to me is a major concern and actually something that I really think is a place where the university needs to figure out how to step in,” Nadell said.

Read more
TheWashingtonPostLogo

A Brief History of Antisemitism in U.S. Higher Education

/in

A recent Washington Post article traces the deep-rooted history of antisemitism in American higher education from the 18th century to today’s campus tensions. Pamela Nadell, a historian and director of American University’s Jewish Studies Program, explains how Columbia University, like other elite institutions in the 1920s, restricted Jewish admissions to preserve its Protestant-dominated culture. The article highlights how such exclusionary policies shaped university demographics and how antisemitism continues to manifest in academic settings today.

Read more