Jewish Kentucky Oral History Collection

In an effort to preserve and promote Kentucky's important Jewish identity and heritage, the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Kentucky will embark on a three-year project to collect, preserve, and make accessible oral histories from individuals across the Commonwealth's Jewish communities. This project will not only make visible the rich traditions of Jewish identity that have been created in Kentucky synagogues, businesses, and institutions, but will also help to promote the idea that Kentucky's Jewish culture and Jewish identity continues to survive and thrive today. Over the course of three years, we plan to collect a minimum of 55 oral histories from across the Commonwealth. We will work with University of Kentucky students and community partners to use the cutting edge technology developed by the University of Kentucky Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History to make the interviews publicly accessible online. The sustainable legacy of this project comes in four parts. First, this project establishes the JHFE Jewish Kentucky Oral History Collection as the most expansive Jewish oral history collection in the Commonwealth with capacity for extensive, sustainable growth. Second, digital access to the collection will stimulate and generate awareness of Jewish presence and identity in Kentucky. Third, we create a generation-to-generation working model for community members and students to preserve and nourish Kentucky Jewish identity. Fourth, we embed this model into the University of Kentucky curriculum through the proposal and development of a new undergraduate course on Kentucky Jewish history and identity.