2024 TIJS Undergraduate Grants in Action
The Tam Institute for Jewish Studies (TIJS) provides awards and grants to undergraduate students to support activities that enrich the academic experience, such as study abroad, intensive language training, and travel for research or participation in conferences and workshops. The Institute supports a wide range of subject matter and experiences, as evidenced by how three recent recipients utilized their respective grant funding: Naomi Altman, who used funds to cover tuition for an Arabic course; Kae Goldstein, whose grant supported her ethnographic research in Israel; and Sophie Kalman, who took an intensive Hebrew language course in Haifa. As previous undergraduate TIJS grant recipient Adina Peck explains, “there's a lot of different avenues and interdisciplinary ways that Judaism interacts with the world, so people can explore anything.”
Naomi Altman’s grant enabled her to take an online Arabic course with the International Center for Language Studies in order to further her research of Arab culture in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As she progressed through the course, Altman leveraged her growing skills to participate in in-person language practice events organized by Int’l Café, a local group that connects language learners. Through these, she conversed with individuals from an array of countries in a manner that not only allowed her to practice Arabic, but led to meaningful discussions about their perspectives. Overall, Altman reflects that these experiences, “offered me a deeper cultural and political understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian region, as well as insights into the powerful role language plays in shaping interactions and experiences.”
Kae Goldstein’s grant award supported her ethnographic research in Israel on second generation Ethiopian Jews within the Beta Israel community. There, she gained first-hand experience with different aspects of the culture she’d learned about in the classroom and through textbooks. To that end, Goldstein attended her first Ethiopian Synagogue, Bar Mitzvah, wedding, and more. Ultimately, immersing herself in this way lends itself to the ethnography she plans to write. As she notes, “Highlighting and amplifying the Ethiopian voices and experiences too often silenced in the Israeli community through this work ultimately exposes and teaches both myself and others about the beauty of Ethiopian Jewry and the power these people hold as both Black/African/Ethiopian bodies and as Jewish bodies, both of which are under constant attack.”
Sophie Kalmin utilized her grant for an intensive Hebrew language course at FirstHand Ulpan in Haifa, which she leveraged to further her honors thesis research. Spending a week in Haifa between her Birthright trip and an internship, Kalmin felt the time was ripe to engage with Hebrew on a deeper level. Between near-daily individual in-person lessons with an instructor while in Haifa along will follow-up Zoom sessions, Kalmin learned an array of specific terms related to her academic research and refined what she hops to be part a part of her senior thesis written entirely in Hebrew. “By learning in a one-on-one environment, (the Firsthand Ulpan instructor) honed on my individual needs and goals, such as improving my academic writing, improving quick conjugations in my head, allowing me to understand Israeli media on my own, and having a sound foundational understanding of Hebrew,” Kalmin shares.
Throughout the years, TIJS undergraduate grants have offered many students diverse opportunities to enhance their skills and develop a better understanding of Jewish culture and civilization. In addition to the experiences of Naomi, Kae, and Sophie, these grants have supported students’ archival research for honors theses on topics of Jewish student activism - including the Israeli Andalusian Orchestra of Ashdod and German-Jewish emigration in the 1930’s – as well as internships with the Middle East Peace Process Program in DC, a fellowship at the Drisha Institute in New York City, and more.
The Tam Institute for Jewish Studies accepts applications for its undergraduate grant every spring. You can learn more about requirements and how to apply here: http://js.emory.edu/grants/index.html
Published 1/23/25