David Sorkin

David Sorkin is the Lucy G. Moses Professor of Modern Jewish History at Yale University, specializing in European cultural and intellectual history. His research offers alternative perspectives to nationalist interpretations of modern Jewish history, focusing on political history and the Enlightenment's relationship to religion.

Key publications examine the formation of Jewish subcultures in German states, Moses Mendelssohn's religious thought, and the Berlin Haskalah's influence on German philosophy. His award-winning work 'Jewish Emancipation' argues civil rights attainment constitutes the central event of modern Jewish history.

Current projects include a history of emancipation politics across five centuries. Sorkin has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, British Academy, and served as visiting professor at École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and Scuola Normale Superiore.