Lynn Rapaport

Lynn Rapaport is the Henry Snyder Professor of Sociology at Pomona College, where she has been a faculty member since 1989. She is currently on leave for Fall 2025. Her work is centered in the Department of Sociology, with a strong interdisciplinary focus on Holocaust studies, cultural sociology, and memory.

Her research explores the Holocaust and genocide through the lens of popular culture, analyzing films, television, comics, and other media representations from the 1940s to the present. She investigates how cultural narratives shape collective memory, identity, and emotional responses to historical trauma.

Her major publications include Jews in Germany after the Holocaust and numerous influential articles on Schindler’s List, Holocaust humor, and Nazi representations in comedy and exploitation films. Her work bridges sociology, history, Jewish studies, and media studies.

Notable awards include the American Sociological Association’s Best Book Award in the Sociology of Religion and fellowships from DAAD, AAUW, and the Bosch Foundation. She has taught core courses such as Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory, Introduction to Sociology, and Sociology of Emotions.

• German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Study Visit Research Grant for Faculty, 1994
• American Sociological Association, Best Book Award in the Sociology of Religion, 1998
• Society for the Study of Social Problems, C. Wright Mills Award Finalist, 1998
• Bosch Younger Scholars Fellowship, 1993–1994
• AAUW Dissertation Fellowship, 1987–1988

Rapaport has advised senior theses and mentored students in sociology. While no current research lab or team is mentioned, her scholarship has significantly influenced discussions on cultural memory and the ethics of representation. She received her Ph.D. from Columbia University and her B.A. from the University of Southern California.