Resume
Leila Ruth Bloch a writer, researcher, and archive consultant.
Education
Stellenbosch University
MA History (biography writing) Completed in 2022.
Title: “A Legacy of Care? The Biography of Hannah Reeve Sanders” (Superv. Anton Ehlers. Examiners: Lindie Koorts and Elizabeth van Heyningen
Humboldt Winter and Summer University
Cultural Memory - Museums in Berlin Completed in 2021
University of Cape Town
- BA (Hons) Heritage and Public Culture Completed in 2014 (Cum Laude)
- BA majoring in English and Drama Completed in 2009
Work Experience
South African Jewish Museum (SAJM) | Vodcast Developer and Archive Project Manager
2014 – 2023
This diverse role has involved the creation, management and ongoing engagement withthe museum's archival holdings. It includes curating relevant content that aligns withexhibition concepts as well as conducting comprehensive research using variousresources such as artifacts, databases, archives, and interviews to deepen the narrative ofJewish history in South Africa. Its current intonation seeks nostalgic stories through socialmedia for the "Parow Project"—a book project uncovering the history of this forgottensuburb, as well as the development of a feminist vodcast integrating hidden narrativeswithin contemporary discussions around identity, race, and cultural expression in SouthAfrica.
Biography of an Unchartered People Project | Research Assistant
2018 – 2021
Selected and digitised the Grahamstown Lunatic Asylum records in the Cape Archives while completed a masters degree in history, with a focus on biography writing and medical ethics.
Memory.inc | Research Assistant
2017
Conducted exhibition research for the Fort Hare Centenary Exhibition in situ panels, which collectively constitute a heritage trail through the Fort Hare campus, Alice, Bhisho and East London.
Goodcop TV | Documentary Film Researcher for The President Needs More Time (dir. Oliver Hermanus)
2015 – 2020
The role included identifying and providing prompts for in-depth interviews, outlining critical moments in the period of Aids denialism and providing concise and comprehensive reports which helped inform the documentary narrative.
Art Writer
2011 – 2013
Published articles and fiction: Mercedez-Benz – Life (2013), SliPnet.co.za (2011), Mahala.co.za (2011), ITCH(2010), Difficult to Explain Poetry Anthology (2010), The Ghost-Eater and Other Stories – Short Story Anthology (2013), Difficult to Explain (Finuala Dowling).
Damon Galgut's Waiting for Godot | Director's Assistant
2011 – 2013
Helped manage the cast and assist Damon Galgut for his first theatre production of Waiting for Godot.