The Salo Wittmayer Baron Dissertation Award in Jewish Studies is made possible by a generous gift from Dr. Shoshana B. Tancer and Robert S. Tancer.
Named for Shoshana Tancer’s father, Professor Salo Wittmayer Baron—the most important Jewish historian in the 20th century—this award is given to the best dissertation in the field of Jewish History and Culture in the Americas.
A $5,000 (USD) award is granted every three years. Dissertations completed, defended, and accepted at U.S. universities between June 2021 and May 2024 are currently eligible for submission.
- Submission deadline: May 31, 2024
- Awarded in fall 2024
download and complete the application cover sheet
submission guidelines
Application must include:
- completed application cover sheet
- a letter of nomination from the dissertation’s advisor
- may be emailed separately by the advisor or included as part of the application
- a letter of application by the dissertation’s author, summarizing the contribution of the dissertation to Jewish History and Culture of the Americas
- must include your name and email address
- a digital copy of the dissertation (PDF preferred)
Email completed application materials:
- to: Lisa.Kaplan@asu.edu
- subject line: 2024 Baron Dissertation Award Application
- must be received by May 31, 2024
previous recipients
2021
first place
Ayelet Brinn
University of Pennsylvania, 2019
"Miss Amerike: The Yiddish Press’s Encounter with the United States, 1885-1924"
honorary mention
Sandra Fox
New York University, 2018
"Here, We’re Real Jews: Producing Authentic Jews in American Summer Camps, 1945-1980"
2018
Geraldine Gudefin
Brandeis University
“The Civil and Religious Worlds of Marriage and Divorce: Russian Jewish Immigrants in France and the United States, 1881–1939”
2015
Zev Eleff
Brandeis University
“Power, Pulpits and Pews: Religious Authority and the Formation of American Judaism, 1816-1885”
2012
inaugural award recipient
David Koffman
New York University
"The Jews' Indian: Native Americans in the Jewish Imagination and Experience, 1850-1950”