Ari Joskowicz

Eugene Greener, Jr. Chair in Jewish Studies; Professor of Jewish Studies and History
Chair, Department of Jewish Studies

Ari Joskowicz is a historian of modern Jewish, Romani, and European history with a special interest in the relations between minority groups from the Enlightenment until today. His most recent book, Rain of Ash: Roma, Jews, and the Holocaust (Princeton University Press, 2023) offers a new history of the genocide of Roma and Jews during World War II and their related quest for historical justice. The book charts the evolving postwar relationship between Roma and Jews over the course of nearly a century. During the Nazi era, Jews and Roma shared little in common besides their simultaneous persecution. Yet the decades of entwined struggles for recognition have deepened Romani-Jewish relations, which now center not only on commemorations of past genocides but also on contemporary debates about antiracism and Zionism. Rain of Ash received three book prizes: the George Mosse Prize from the American Historical Association, the Ernst Fraenkel Prize from the Wiener Library, and the Sybil Milton Memorial Prize from the German Studies Association. It was also a finalist for three additional honors: the National Jewish Book Award, the Jordan Schnitzer Book Award, and the Yad Vashem International Book Prize.

Joskowicz has worked on various themes in Jewish cultural history – from Jewish anti-Catholicism, Enlightenment economic thought about Jews, to the marketing of Jewish mysticism. His current research focuses on broader histories of Nazi genocide, the challenges of writing Romani history, and the economic history of memory.

At Vanderbilt, Professor Joskowicz teaches courses in modern European and Jewish history, including The Holocaust; Antisemitism: A History; The Idea of Europe; Religion and Politics in Modern Europe; Perspectives on Modern Jewish History; Conspiracy Theories and Rumors; Europe from the Margins (graduate). You can find a short video about his teaching here on Vimeo.