For Women and Girls Only: Reshaping Jewish Orthodoxy Through the Arts in the Digital Age

Robert Seltzer Lecture Series

For Women and Girls Only: Reshaping Jewish Orthodoxy Through the Arts in the Digital Age

Mainstream portrayals of ultra-Orthodox religious women often frame their faith as oppressive: they are empowered only when they leave their community. Jessica Roda's scholarship flips this notion on its head. Drawing on years of fieldwork between New York and Montreal, Roda examines modern performances on the stage and screen directed by and for ultra-Orthodox women. Their incredibly vibrant Jewish artistic scenes defy stereotypes that paint these women as repressed, reclusive to their shtetl (village), and devoid of creativity and agency.

Presented by: Jessica Roda, Assistant Professor of Jewish Civilization in the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Roda is an anthropologist and ethnomusicologist trained in Europe and North America. She is also the author of For Women and Girls Only: Reshaping Jewish Orthodoxy Through the Arts in the Digital Age.

This lecture will be held online via Zoom and in-person. 

• Zoom link will be provided upon RSVP
• Please download the Zoom app before joining the event
• Access Hunter College's "Zoom Webinars Best Practices" Guide