Ellie R. Schainker

Ellie R. Schainker is the Arthur Blank Family Foundation Associate Professor of Modern European Jewish History at Emory University, holding joint appointments in the Department of History and Jewish Studies. She earned her Ph.D. (2010) and B.A. (2000) in History from the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on East European Jewish history, Imperial Russian governance, religious conversions, and the interplay of confessional politics in multi-ethnic empires.

Her first book, *Confessions of the Shtetl* (2016), won the 2017 National Jewish Book Award for its archival analysis of Jewish converts in Imperial Russia. Her second project, *Rites of Empire*, examines Jewish religious reforms and secularism in late Imperial Russia. She has held fellowships at the Katz Center (UPenn) and Yad Hanadiv in Israel.

Education: University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D. History, 2010; B.A. History, summa cum laude, 2000). Teaching expertise includes courses on East European Jewry, modern Jewish history, and gender/sexuality in Jewish contexts. She advises doctoral students like Anastasiia Strakhova and has been recognized for her contributions to Jewish Studies pedagogy.

Research grants include Emory’s Tam Institute Evans Faculty Grant (2012–2016) and University Research Council grants. Her work bridges micro-historical analyses with macro-imperial frameworks, emphasizing the shtetl as a site of religious and social experimentation. Recent articles explore gendered legal practices, conversion discourses, and state-imposed religious reforms.