Live From the AJHS Archives

FAIN: GA-274082-20

American Jewish Historical Society (New York, NY 10011-6301)
Annie Polland (Project Director: May 2020 to December 2021)

Retention of six staff members to present live streamed programs with the archivist and historian guiding audiences in the examination and contextualization of historical documents.

“Live From the Archives” builds on the AJHS’s mission and responds to the current set of challenges and opportunities by creating accessible video dives into the archive, elevating individual documents or objects as building blocks for analysis and conversation. Certain building blocks will be enhanced by adding analysis from outside scholars who will view the original building block and film their responses/conversation, which will then be reposted. We plan to prioritize certain documents and objects for which we have ongoing scholarly working groups and collecting initiatives, including Jews and Food, Jews of Color, Women in Politics and American antisemitism. These episodes and sessions build on the AJHS’s experience leading people through the archival spaces and working with scholars, but in the use of new technology, create novel and immersive digital storytelling experiences that highlight and strengthen the relationship between the archivist, object, viewer, scholar and public.