A Welcome Message from our Director, Prof. Adam Teller
For the new academic year, the Program in Judaic Studies welcomes its new director, Prof.
Adam Teller, who has taught at Brown since 2010. Born in London, Prof. Teller studied at
Oxford University and completed his graduate studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,
specializing in the history of the Jews in eastern Europe. He went on to teach at the University of
Haifa in Israel for 15 years before moving to Brown.
Prof. Teller has published widely on the social, economic, religious, and cultural history of
Polish-Lithuanian Jewry. His most recent book, Rescue the Surviving Souls: The Great Jewish
Refugee Crisis of the Seventeenth Century, was published by Princeton University Press in 2020.
It was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in History and won the inaugural Rachel
Feldhay Brenner Award in Polish-Jewish Studies, given by the Polish Institute of Arts and
Sciences of America. The book was translated into Hebrew as פליטים ושבויים: המשבר הגדול בעולם
היהודי במאה השבע־עשרה and published in 2026.
Prof. Teller was a member of the core academic team that created the exhibition at the award-
winning POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. He was also one of the
directors of the Pinkassim Project, which identified and scanned more than two hundred Jewish
community record books from early modern Europe, now freely accessible through the National
Library of Israel.
Looking ahead to his new role, Prof. Teller said:
“I have always believed that all the different Jewish cultures and the ancient—but constantly
renewing—civilization that created them are an immensely valuable heritage, not just for Jews
but for humanity in general. I am therefore extremely excited to have the opportunity to help
future generations of Brown students learn about the contents of this cultural treasure house, in
the hope that the experience will enrich their lives just as it has enriched mine. Students should
always feel free to stop by—whether to ask a question, talk over an idea, or simply find out more
about what we do. I love to chat.”
Offering an interdisciplinary undergraduate concentration, the program provides students with the opportunity to explore Jewish culture and civilization across the ages. Since Christianity and Islam have deep roots in Judaism and the Western world has been profoundly shaped by a deep and abiding tension with both Jewish religious tradition and the Jewish communities in its midst, the concentration includes the study of interactions between Jews and non-Jews in both the ancient and modern periods. The history and culture of the State of Israel and its place in the Middle East is also a major focus of study. These are all issues with significant contemporary resonance, so the concentration offers its students many new insights on the world in which we live.
How to reach us
If you have questions about our program, please contact us via email at Judaic@brown.edu or by telephone at (401) 863-3910.
We are located in Hirschfeld House at 163 George Street. Our mailing address is Brown University, Program in Judaic Studies, Box 1826, Providence, RI 02912