Explain and explore how the memoir/document you have selected illuminates some facet of modern Jewish life that you would like to reflect on more deeply. Consider how the author(s) address a certain issue/conflict/paradox in their experience as Jews in the modern world at a particular point in time. Develop a thesis that relates to a question or questions about modern Jewish life at one point in time or another. Use the remaining few pages to develop and support your thesis throughout the remainder of your paper.
Devote no more than a couple of sentences to recounting the story and your individual’s role in it. What is the argument this individual makes about an incident? How was it dealt with? What was at stake? What motivated the key actors to act the way they did? What can this tell us about modern Jewish history more generally?
Keep in mind that memoirs are a historical document themselves, a product of the time and place in which they were written. I encourage you to think critically about the narrative your author presents and be cognizant of alternative ways of interpreting history. Your goal is to complicate the story your memoirist tells. Then think about how this tells us something about the history of Jews in the modern world.
