Noam Pianko

Posted on July 2, 2020

Prof. Noam Pianko (BYFI Fellow 1990, BYFI Faculty 2003, 2004), Associate Professor and Samuel N. Stroum Chair of Jewish Studies in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. In addition, he serves as the chair of the University of Washington Jewish Studies program. Noam is a historian of the Jewish people dedicated to rethinking deeply internalized assumptions about Jewish nationalism and its relationship to modern political, social, and cultural trends. His first book, Zionism and the Roads Not Taken: Rawidowicz, Kaplan, Kohn (Indiana University Press, 2010) explores overlooked formulations of early twentieth century Zionism. The Jewish People: Boundaries Beyond Borders, my current book project, broadens his earlier scholarship by investigating changing historical notions of Jewish collectivity and considering their lessons for contemporary debates about group identity in an era of transnational ties, demographic shifts, and global networks. Noam holds a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University in 1995, a Doctorate from Yale University in 2004 and was Awarded a Wexner graduate fellowship.