Locating Jewish Heritage: The Indiana Synagogue Mapping Project
Join us for a public lecture delivered by Professor Wendy Soltz, Director of the Public History Program at Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana, USA). She will be speaking on "Locating Jewish Heritage: The Indiana Synagogue Mapping Project."
From 1865 to 2015, Indiana’s Jewish communities left a lasting imprint on the state’s built environment. Today, many congregations are dissolving, former synagogues are being demolished, and those that remain standing are underexplored as historical landmarks and valuable primary sources. In this presentation, Professor Soltz will discuss the goals of the Indiana Synagogue Mapping Project (ISMP), outline the survey process, and highlight how interactive maps, archival research, and community engagement help uncover hidden histories, reveal broader patterns of Jewish settlement, and deepen our understanding of Jewish heritage in Indiana.
If you are interested in learning more about the project, here is a brief introductory video.
This event is co-sponsored by UofT Department of History and the Critical Digital Humanities Initiative (CDHI).
Wendy Soltz
Wendy Soltz is Assistant Professor of History and Director of the Public History Program at Ball State University. She received her PhD in 2016 from the Ohio State University, and specializes in U.S. history, Jewish history, public history, museum studies, and digital history. In 2017, the Association for Jewish Studies Review published her article “Just Miles Away but Worlds Apart: Examining Jewish Participation in Integration Programs at Black Mountain College and Highlander Folk School, 1933-1964.” Her work also has been featured in two PBS specials. Dr. Soltz has curated seven solo exhibitions in Illinois, Ohio, and Washington, D.C. Dr. Soltz served as the Executive Director of the Indiana Jewish Historical Society from 2017 to 2020 and now, funded by a grant from the National Parks Service, she is completing the Indiana Synagogue Mapping Project (ISMP) which documents all of the synagogues across the State of Indiana many of which have been destroyed or are endangered.