Findings
Initially, we had hoped to get interviews from a group of three individuals. We wanted a selection of both boys and girls. As well, a representative for each of the three sects of Judaism. This proved to be harder than we expected. We asked a few individuals to be participants in this project, and many declined. As a result, we were only able to interview Bessie, Liza and Emma.
Via our findings, we were able to establish that all three of our participants said the biggest change, and reason for their lack of active performance of Judaism was due to being away from their families and communities. Judaism as a whole has a big emphasis on community, so being uprooted and living in a new environment where re-building those connections is hard/not as easily accessible as their homes, makes it less likely for individual people to actively and consciously perform their Jewish identities.
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It was very interesting to learn about how our participants construct and and perform their cultural agency in different geographic locations. We have come to learn that identity is continuously rehearsed through communicative/performative actions. Performances allow us to activate memories, make political claims, and articulate a sense of identity/belonging.
Photo Credit: Jake Martin