Jewish Engagement and Community during COVID-19 | Lilah Rosenbaum | Culture and Media

Lilah Rosenbaum(she/her), Culture and Media, Minor: Jewish Culture
Instagram: @lilah.rosenbaum
Twitter: @lilahrosenbaumLilah looks into the sun, wearing a white graphic t shirt and glasses with a clear frame.

Project Description
Over the past two Spring semesters (2020 and 2021) I’ve conducted interviews with a variety of people to learn about their experiences being part of various Jewish communities during the COVID-19 Pandemic. With the influence of taking Oral History Workshop Spring 2021, I expanded this three year project into a formal Oral History of different Jewish communities during COVID. Through four unique perspectives, I learned about how different young people have found or lost Jewish community over COVID. I expanded on existing interviews by incorporating primary sources, new interviews, and multimedia texts to create a written documentation of my Jewish experiences during COVID.

What Form will your Final Project Take?
Paper and interviews

Who was supporting you in with work?
Deborah Levitt – Assistant Professor of Culture and Media; Director and Departmental Faculty Advisor for Culture and for Media

How did you work with your mentor or faculty/staff/success advisors?
Check ins throughout the semester about my progress and larger meetings about my final work and
format.

How has this project has been impactful or transformative — for you personally or for those this work has impacted:
I had the opportunity to travel back to my hometown to conduct two interviews during passover. Being able to be home and celebrating with my family while working on this project helped me connect my personal journey with the research.

What would you do differently? How would you advise a student who is going to do something similar?
I would leave myself more time for the final writing process and expect to have more challenges wrapping up the project.

A large wooden table is set for a Passover seder.

Short summary
I had a great time working on this project. I found that interviewing my subjects and doing research on the topic allowed me to have deeper reflections on my own experiences. Interviewing my subjects in person for the third year allowed for nuanced perspectives and an understanding of their Jewish experiences from a holistic place.

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