About the Project
The Digital Scholarly Commons: Jewish Life in Interwar Łódź (Jewish Łódź DSC) is a multifaceted website that combines the functions of a virtual museum, a digital archive, an online exhibit, and a platform for scholarly communication. The Jewish Łódź DSC offers multiple levels of access and multiple paths—pedagogic and scholarly—for engagement.
By fostering an online global community of scholars engaged in multidisciplinary projects, the Jewish Łódź DSC promotes new scholarship and collaborative ventures. Scholars from multiple academic disciplines contribute interpretive essays and research material to create a comprehensive knowledge base. The Commons offers innovative models of partnerships between institutions dedicated to preservation (the museum and the archive) and study (the university) of the past.
The Jewish Łódź DSC facilitates outreach to a broad range of audiences across diverse age groups around the world. Inspired by “In Mrs. Goldberg’s Kitchen,” a physical, multimedia exhibition about the Jewish quarter in pre-WWII in Łódź, Poland, and currently displayed at the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, the Commons reveals the multimedia and multilayered aspects of the exhibition that are difficult to channel in a traditional museum setting. For the general public, the virtual museum functions as a first point of access. At the same time, the Jewish Łódź DSC serves visitors’ evolving needs. As their desire for deeper knowledge and abilities grows, they are able to explore exhibits prepared by experts on specific topics and can engage with peer-reviewed interactive scholarly presentations. In its role as an educational resource, the Commons offers an innovative learning environment for students at various levels and serves as a resource for teachers.
Team
Lead Designer/Programmer: Adam Hochstetter
Programmer: Katie Chapman
Project Team
Archival Research: Anna Dąbrowicz
Artwork: Anna Dąbrowicz
Graphic Design: Anna Dąbrowicz (test graphic design for the prototype Filip Appel)
Editorial Assistants/Translators: Julia Riegel, Virginia Whealton, and Bethany Braley
Panoramic Photography: Jarosław Trościankowski
Museum Exhibit Photo Design: Agnieszka Ambruszkiewicz and Paweł Myszkowski
Project Consultants
Michelle Dalmau, Head of Digital Collections Services, Indiana University Libraries
William Cowan, Head of Software Development, Indiana University Libraries
Tassie Gniady, Manager of Cyberinfrastructure for Digital Humanities & Creative Activities
Clara Henderson, Associate Director, Institute for Digital Arts and Humanities, Office of the Vice Provost for Research
Nick Homenda, Digital Initiatives Librarian
Advisory Board
Maria Nartonowicz-Kot, Professor and Chair, Institute of History, University of Łódź, Poland
Joanna Niżyńska, Associate Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures and Director, Polish Studies Center at Indiana University, Bloomington
Marcos Silber, Associate Professor of Jewish History and Chair of Multidisciplinary Studies Department, University of Haifa, Israel
Mark Roseman, Pat M Glazer Professor of History and Director, Robert A. and Sandra S. Borns Jewish Studies Program at Indiana University, Bloomington
Piotr Zawilski, Director of State Archives in Łódź, Poland
Jeffrey Veidlinger, Joseph Brodsky Collegiate Professor of History and Judaic Studies, University of Michigan
Partnership
The State Archives in Łódź, Poland
Acknowledgments
This project has been created with support from
New Frontiers in the Arts & Humanities Award
Collaborative Research and Creative Activity Funding Program
The Robert A. and Sandra S. Borns Jewish Studies Program Supplementary Faculty Funding
Jacobs School of Music Supplementary Grant
Technology
Jewish Life in Interwar Łódź is hosted at Indiana University using the open-source, content management system, Omeka Classic, version 2.6.1. Custom programming and design for the site was provided by staff from the Indiana University Libraries and the Cyberinfrastructure for Digital Humanities group including Adam Hochstetter, Anna VanderJagt, Nick Homenda, Amy Doster, and Katie Chapman. The 3D Panorama and Item Picker used for the Microhistories section of the site were developed by Adam Hochstetter.
Contact
Project Director Halina Goldberg