Sussex historian given top academic accolade - The Jewish Chronicle

Lancaster and Sussex-based historian Professor Naomi Tadmor has been elected honorary vice president of the British Social History Society in recognition of her distinguished service and influential academic work.

The appointment of the academic, who is a prominent member of both Lancaster and Sussex’s Jewish communities, was confirmed at the society’s recent AGM, where members voted to honour Professor Tadmor for her leadership, scholarship and longstanding contribution to the field. A respected figure in British academic circles, she previously served as chair of the society, guiding it through major transitions and challenges.

“I am delighted to be elected as honorary vice president,” she said. “It was an honour and a pleasure to serve as the Social History Society’s Chair, and it is wonderful to have this opportunity to continue to contribute to the society’s activities.”

Naomi Tadmor is professor of history at Lancaster University, where she has worked since 2010. Her research explores family and community life, and the language of everyday experience in early modern Britain. Her books Family and Friends in Eighteenth-Century England and The Social Universe of the English Bible are widely recognised as important contributions to social and cultural history.

A learned society founded in 1976, the Social History Society brings together scholars, postgraduate researchers, teachers and heritage professionals. It runs an annual conference, awards prizes, and publishes the respected journal Cultural and Social History.

Reflecting on Professor Tadmor’s leadership, the society noted on their website: “During this time, Naomi helped steer the society through a period of great change and uncertainty, as we confronted the challenges of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the negotiations for a new journal contract, and the need to review our funding model.

“Throughout her tenure, Naomi’s leadership has been marked by thoughtfulness, integrity, and a deep commitment to the society’s mission and values. She has worked tirelessly to support our members, strengthen our community, and champion the importance of social and cultural history at every level.”

The society added that it was “enormously grateful” for her service and “delighted that we can mark her contribution in this way. We also look forward to Naomi’s continued involvement in the life of the society.”

Having grown up in Jerusalem, Professor Tadmor studied for her BA and MA at the Hebrew University, before arriving in the UK in 1988 to undertake her PhD at Cambridge, having received the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Award and matching studentships from the University of Cambridge and Pembroke College, Cambridge.

Although her primary field is British social and cultural history between 1500 and 1800, she has long maintained a strong interest in Jewish history and identity, and her second book, The Social Universe of the English Bible: scripture, society, and culture in early modern England, published in 2010, was a finalist for the Longman-History Today Book of the Year prize. “My recent research includes a collaboration with Professor Michael Beckerman from NYU on a Holocaust-era composition, based on a Hebrew song and a Chasidic niggun. I am also contributing to the forthcoming Oxford edition of the King James Bible,” she said.

Heavily involved in Jewish communal life, Professor Tadmor served for nearly a decade as chair of the Lancaster and Lakes Jewish Community and is currently its representative on the Board of Deputies. “Since I started spending more time in Sussex in 2023, I have taken an active role in Jewish life locally – occasionally leading services at Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue, supporting the new Masorti group, contributing to hostages’ vigils, and helping to establish a Hebrew book library at BNJC in Hove.”

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Topics:

Sussex

Lancaster