To commemorate Women’s History Month, American University Professor Pamela Nadell will speak about her book, America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today.  She will survey what it has meant to be a Jewish woman in America by weaving together the stories of remarkable individuals—from the colonial matron Grace Nathan and her great-granddaughter, the poet Emma Lazarus, to labor activist Bessie Hillman, to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She will highlight how American Jewish women as wives, mothers, activists and workers maintained their Jewish identities and wrote themselves into American history. Defined by a strong sense of self, a resolute commitment to making the world a better place, and diverse notions of what being a Jew means, America’s Jewish women left deep imprints on their families, communities and the nation they call home.

Pamela S. Nadell holds the Patrick Clendenen Chair in Women’s and Gender History and directs the Jewish Studies Program at American University. A specialist in American Jewish history and women’s history, she teaches a variety of courses in Jewish civilization. America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today received the award for Jewish Book of the Year in 2019 from the Jewish Book Council.

This program is co-sponsored by Adult Education and Temple Emanu-El Women of Reform Judaism.

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