(L to R) Prof. Davide Stimilli, Eleanor Landsbaum, Amber Manning, and Jordan Klevdal

On May 10, 2018, the Program in Jewish Studies along with family, friends, babyÖ±²¥app and community members celebrated the accomplishments of the Jewish Studies class of 2017–2018. This year, we graduated five Jewish StudiesÌýminorsÌýand awardÌýthree graduate student endorsements. WeÌýalso honored our numerous scholarship, fellowship and award winners andÌýinterns.

All of our students are doing incredible things after graduation or with their awards. Scroll down to learn more!


Minors in Jewish Studies

Adam Finkelman

BS in Strategic Communication, Minor in Business and Jewish Studies.

Eleanor Landsbaum - Minor in Jewish StudiesEleanor Rullkoetter LandsbaumÌý

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science andÌýCommunication, and minor in Jewish Studies. In Spring 2017, Eleanor presented her Research in Jewish Studies: How, What, Why?Ìýproject titled Beyond Sweet: A Baker's Understanding of Judaism as part of our Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. During her time at CU Boulder, Eleanor was also part of the Jewish Studies Student Advisory Board.ÌýShe is currently working for a local start-up bakery and this Fall 2018Ìýwill begin Law School at the University of Denver.

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Lana Markowitz - Minor in Jewish StudiesIlana Nell Markowitz

Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, minor in Jewish Studies. This summer, Ilana will begin working with the Boulder Jewish Community Center pre-school, where she will serveÌýas an assistant and summer camp teacher.

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Elena Weiner - Minor in Jewish StudiesElana Tovah Weiner

Bachelor of Arts in Music –ÌýPiano Performance, minor in Jewish Studies. Elana will be graduating CU with honors and plans on pursing a career in arts and administration. During her time at CU, she was a member of the Jewish Studies Student Advisory Board and involved in a number of other organizations on campus.ÌýElana plans to attend graduate school to further pursue her musical education and work with the international Jewish community through organizations such as the Joint Distribution Committee.

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Minors in Hebrew and Israel Studies

Ryan Schaffer - Minor in Hebrew & Israel StudiesRyan Catherine SchaferÌý

Bachelor of Art in Communication, Certification in Elementary Education, minor in Business and Hebrew and Israel Studies. Following graduation, Ryan will spend 10 months teaching English through the MasaÌýIsrael Teaching Fellows program in Israel.

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Graduate Endorsements in Jewish Studies

Jordan Klevdal - Graduate EndorsementJordan Lynn Klevdal

Master of Arts in English, Graduate Certificate in Critical Theory, and Graduate Endorsement in Jewish Studies
Thesis:ÌýThe Mystics of Memory: Jewish Mysticism in W.G. Sebald's Austerlitz

Using the lens of Jewish mysticism, Jordan’sÌýthesis seeks to address the question of how society records and erases histories of trauma and violence by examining the memorial accounts of the trauma of World War II and the devastation of the Holocaust in W.G. Sebald’s novel,ÌýAusterlitz.ÌýJo has been accepted to the PhD program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, joining UNC’s English and Comparative Literatures department to continue her work with memory, literatures of exile, and the conceptualization of nostalgia as an illness.

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Amber Manning - Graduate EndorsementAmber Ryan Manning

Master of Arts in English, Graduate Endorsement in Jewish Studies.
Thesis:ÌýOur Precious: Reclamation and the Golem in He, She and It and The Puttermesser Papers

Amber Manning's thesis,ÌýOur Precious: Reclamation and the Golem in He, She and It and The Puttermesser Papers, examines how a reclamation of the golem narrative can be a way to map notions of Jewish futurity and gender. This year, she received the CHA Post-Holocaust American Judaism Fellowship to conduct research in the archives for a digital exhibit and the Barry and Sue Baer Graduate Fellowship that will aid in her visit to Prague to continue research on the golem. Upon her graduation from CU,ÌýAmber will pursue a PhD at Duke University focusing on thing theory and the supernatural contemporary Jewish-American literature.Ìý

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Rebecca Zinner - Graduate EndorsementRebecca Zinner

Master of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Documentary Media Practices and Graduate Endorsement in Jewish Studies
Thesis: Welcome Home

Rebecca Zinner's thesis is a 15-minute documentary film that offers an insider look at a Taglit-Birthright Israel trip. Welcome Home highlights the mediated nature of the experience and ponders its impact on the political stances of the participants. After graduation, Rebecca will work for Boulder County to create film pieces that highlight the services provided by the county along with the people who benefit form them. She also plans to continue producing independent films and hopes to one day teach in higher-education.


Jewish Studies Scholarship and Fellowship Recipients