Dr. Ellie R. Schainker, Arthur Blank Family Foundation Associate Professor of Modern European Jewish History, will lead a group of Emory undergraduates on an inaugural study abroad program to Poland in the summer of 2023. The 10-day, 1-credit experiential learning abroad experience is organized by the Tam Institute for Jewish Studies (TJIS). The Berger Family Fund, which supports student experiential learning on topics related to antisemitism, Jewish life, and Jewish history, will heavily subsidize the cost for participants. Through the on-site learning experience and a companion course taught by Dr. Schainker, students will engage with over one thousand years of Jewish history in Poland and Eastern Europe more broadly. Read comments from Dr. Schainker about the exciting initiative below, and learn more about the program on the TJIS website.

“Reflecting on her vision for the program, Prof. Schainker noted, ‘My goal is for them to walk away with a deep appreciation for how Poland – and Eastern Europe more broadly – became such a magnetic home for Ashkenazi Jewish society and culture for really over a thousand years, until the Holocaust.  I want them to appreciate that as a space in which Jewish culture and life flourished while having its major challenges as well.‘”