Still Wandering: Tales from the Diaspora

Abstract

As human beings, we are compelled to establish relationships and develop communities; we practice finding meaning in these things. However, no matter how much effort goes into their creation, and no matter how rich they are, they are always subject to an end—what they start as is not what they become. This too resonates with all things built; the memory of what a place was, inhabits what they are, and what they will be.

My thesis is a pilgrimage: within the excavation of documents, retellings of personal accounts, and site visits, I attempt to illuminate a group of people that risk being lost to the passing of time. It is within these stories that my family is brought to life, animating the houses, synagogues and other buildings that they once occupied. It is a reminder and a celebration of transience and the value of inhabiting it, if only for a brief amount of time.