Jessica Vance Roitman is Professor of Jewish Studies in the Faculty of Religion and Theology. She is a social and cultural historian with a focus on Jews in chronologies ranging from the early modern period through the 19th century. Her research interests are in Caribbean, Atlantic, and Colonial (Jewish) histories. In particular, her work looks at the intersection of 'minorities', ethnicity, and religion in colonial spaces.
Jessica Roitman co-leads the research programme Traces of the Transcendent for the Research Institute CLUE+.
In addition to her research, she teaches courses on Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Jews and Judaism, Amsterdam Jewish Culture, and Religious Heritage in Amsterdam. She supervises BA, MA, and PhD theses on these topics.
She is (co) editor-in-chief for the Journal of Early American History, editor for Brill's Privacy Studies book series, Amsterdam University Press' Jewish Urban Cultures book series, and is on the editorial board of Jewish Historical Studies.