About

What is Collecting These Times: American Jewish Experiences of the Pandemic?

Collecting These Times is an interactive website and digital repository for collections that document the myriad, diverse ways in which American Jewish individuals and communities are experiencing, responding, and adapting to the Covid-19 pandemic. The site provides a centralized and searchable listing of collecting projects where potential contributors can submit materials to a collection. Researchers and community members can view materials to better understand how American Jews are experiencing baz’man hazeh, these times. Collecting These Times is a project of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University and the Council of American Jewish Museums.

What is the goal of Collecting These Times?

Collecting These Times aims to connect visitors to the many collecting projects that document the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on American Jewish communities. The project seeks to promote existing collecting projects, find new contributors to expand available resources on this topic, preserve materials from diverse communities, and enable the creation of new collections.

How can I get involved?

Find a collecting project to contribute your own materials, record a story or interview, or write a reflection about your experiences during the pandemic. You can also help us by publicizing the project and sharing the website with members of your community. We encourage educators to use the materials on this site for teaching purposes. If you have any questions about the project, please contact us at pandemicreligion@gmail.com. If you would like to start your own collecting project for your own community, please reach out to us.

Collecting Partners:

Project Staff:

  • Ken Albers, Software Developer and Designer, RRCHNM
  • Hannah Ehlers, Graduate Research Assistant, RRCHNM
  • Zev Eleff, Associate Professor, Hebrew Theological College
  • Alexis Frambes, Research Associate, RRCHNM
  • Caroline Greer, Digital History Fellow, RRCHNM
  • Jason Heppler, Senior Web Developer, RRCHNM
  • Julia Hoffer, Grants Administrator, RRCHNM
  • God's Will Katchoua, Systems Administrator, RRCHNM
  • Jessica Mack, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, RRCHNM
  • Lincoln Mullen, Associate Professor of History, George Mason University
  • Kim Nguyen, Web Designer, RRCHNM
  • Jim Safley, Senior Software Developer and Metadata Specialist, RRCHNM
  • John G. Turner, Professor of Religious Studies, George Mason University

Collecting These Times is generously supported by Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Jim Joseph Foundation, Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah, and The Russell Berrie Foundation.