Sam Jaffe graduated from the University of Auckland, New Zealand in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in history and a Bachelor of Commerce in information systems and entrepreneurship. His honours dissertation examined the works of Holocaust survivor Primo Levi, considering how the emergence of a supranational discourse about the Holocaust during the 1960s influenced Levi’s conception of his role as a witness to genocide in his book The Periodic Table (1975).
While studying, Sam co-founded First Cut Ventures, a student-led angel investment organisation that provides guidance and financial support to young start-up company founders. He also helped to design and manage The University of Auckland History Society’s schools outreach program, visiting hundreds of students around New Zealand to promote the value of studying the past.
Sam’s broad interests centre on the histories of mass violence, grassroots activism and humanitarian action in the second half of the 20th century. His thesis intends to focus on the "Bangla Desh Information Center", an organisation that was created in response to Bangladesh’s War of Independence in 1971. He is also interested in other instances of activism and protest that occurred during the “East Pakistan Crisis.”
