Fields of Study
- Jewish Studies
- Religion, Culture & Politics
Areas of Interest
- Jewish Studies
- Feminist Theory
- Queer Theory
- Jewish Gender Studies
- Ethnography
- Women's Studies
Biography
Sara Sharpe is pursuing a PhD in Religion with a collaborative specialization in Jewish Studies, under the supervision of Dr. Naomi Seidman, and funded by SSHRC in the form of a Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship. Her MA thesis project involved ethnographic research with senior Jewish women of Middle Eastern heritage in Montreal (supervised by Dr. Norma Baumel Joseph). By conducting interviews with underrepresented Jews, and employing intersectional feminist and queer theory, Sara analyzes the function of friendship among marginalized people in reorienting the relationship between 'the centre' and 'the margins', as well as their own place within that dynamic. Her PhD research expands on this previous work, focusing on LGBTQ+ Jews, and prioritizing Jews of colour. She has several publications, including her article "Lucy Bilsky Bronfman and Lillian Bilsky Freiman: Archives of Sisterhood" in the forthcoming anthology of the Canadian Society for Jewish Studies by Cambridge Scholars Publishing (2022).