Scholar to discuss National Museum of American Jewish History
Museum official Josh Perelman will discuss what it took to build the newly opened National Museum of American Jewish History when he speaks at the University of Louisville March 30. March 24, 2011Perelman’s free, public lecture on “Building History: The New National Museum of American Jewish History” will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Room 139, Shumaker Research Building. UofL’s Gottschalk Lectures in History and the Naamani Memorial Lecture Series are presenting the event and reception afterward.
Perelman is the museum’s deputy director for exhibitions, programs and collections. He is expected to give an inside look at how the new Philadelphia attraction tells the story of the history and traditions of Jewish people and their relationship to broader U.S. history. Perelman plans to discuss opportunities and challenges Jewish people encountered in coming to and settling in America.
The speaker has more than a decade of experience working with museums, historical organizations and Jewish organizations. Perelman earned his doctorate in Hebrew and Judaic studies and in American history at New York University and has been a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.
The Naamani series is named for former UofL political science professor Israel Naamani and brings to campus prominent scholars involved in Jewish, Middle East and Islamic studies. The Gottshalk series is named for former UofL professor Louis Gottschalk, who served as president of the American Historical Society.