My capstone project surrounds diving into my interest of fighting hate by learning more about anti-Semitism in America, and how it originated in other parts of the world. I hope to spend time at the ADL, and research the work that they do there. I plan on creating surveys and taking data about what Jews and non-Jews know about anti-Semitism and the Holocaust in particular.

Global Studies Capstone Essay
Annotated Bibliography
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Main Points of My Research
  • Anti-Semitism and other forms of hate have moved online in recent years due to access of free speech applications such as Parler and 8chan
  • Social media has grown into a large part of our daily lives but while it is entertaining, it is also very dangerous as people with common beliefs and interests can come together to promote hate
  • Hate will continue to persist unless it loses its platform, and as long as social media remains its platform then hate will continue to persist
Passages and Context
  • The Jews were thought of as "other" in pre World War Two Europe because of the way that the media portrayed them. They were looked at differently because of cartoons and other propaganda that showed them in a different light.
    • Posters, newspapers, and cartoons were filled with propaganda portraying Jews as big nosed, ugly, men with horns. Though these pictures portrayed Jews as ugly, corrupt people, they also depicted and poked fun at murder and brutal attacks on the Jewish community. The cartoons of Jews put fear into the hearts of European citizens, and Jews became thought of as outcasts in the communities. 
  • ​Even in America, Jews were targeted after the war. Jewish and Black people were often categorized together as outcasts and during the Civil Rights Movements, both were targeted.
    • ​Groups that opposed the civil rights movement grouped Black and Jewish people together, and targeted them both. They were the two most hated groups at the time and deemed outcasts to society.
  • ​Hashtags make it so easy for people with similar interests and beliefs to find each other. This is often good, but it can also prove the opposite. Anti-Semites or racists can come together by finding similar hashtags that provide similarities.
    • ​Anti-Semitism specifically has grown through platforms such as these. Mainstream anti-Semites are flocking together on these apps to spread hate together. Hashtags such as “hitler was right,” and slogans such as “Jews are descended from satan,” have repeatedly shown up as trending on Parler.

Product 2:

My second capstone product was a survey sent to the entire Watkinson community, along with it being shared on social media. The purpose of this survey was to find out what knowledge my peers and others had on the Holocaust and what experiences many of them have had with anti-Semitism. The survey was comprised of 18 questions that gave me in depth insight into how people have learned about this brutal time in our history, and if they've been given correct information. I then wrote an essay about the highs and lows of the information I received and analyzed different statistics. I was able to directly connect this to my capstone paper by highlighting how many people have anti-Semitic experiences on social media platforms
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Product 3:
For my third and final Global Studies capstone product, I held a conversation with my Rabbi, Rebekah Goldman, of Farmington Valley Jewish Congregation,(FVJC) in Simsbury Connecticut. We had an hour long conversation surrounding identity and anti-Semitism, and I asked her of her thoughts and beliefs on anti-Semitism today. Having insight from a clergy member of her caliber was extremely interesting and everything she says is so thoughtful and said with care. We were able to have a long open dialogue and discuss the matters of anti-Semitism today which are so important to us both. I recorded the conversation to use it as my final product so that our experiences and thoughts could be heard by many.