Nora Katz
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Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL)

Combining my skills as a public historian, curator, theatre-maker, and educator, my role as Director of Heritage and Interpretation at the ISJL is my biggest challenge yet. I am responsible for public-facing Jewish historical and interpretive programming throughout a thirteen-state region, from Texas to the Carolinas. I produce and host the ISJL Virtual Vacation, organize and guide our Southern Jewish Heritage Tours, and manage Temple B'nai Israel, a historic synagogue in Natchez, Mississippi. I am passionate about the ways in which cultural institutions can engage new audiences, tell unique stories, and advance social justice.

Interested in connecting or learning more? Send me an email.
The ISJL Virtual Vacation is a digital tour through the history and culture of the Jewish South. My favorite episodes explore the hard truths of southern history, especially stories about the ongoing fight for civil rights. Two of my favorite episodes are linked below.
This episode explores the early Jewish history of south Florida through the lens of the Stephen Sondheim musical Road Show—a story of boom and bust, of destruction and creation, of capitalism and its discontents.
This episode unpacks the complicated legacy of Rabbi Milton Grafman and his 1963 Rosh Hashanah sermon, delivered in the days following the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing.

​Glasnevin Cemetery Museum

As a curatorial intern at the Glasnevin Cemetery Museum, one of the most unique heritage sites in Ireland, I worked in archives across Dublin to develop content and source materials for an exhibit on Glasnevin in images. 
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​New Bedford Whaling Museum

Selected projects:
  • Research and installation of "For the Love of Beauty: The New England Aesthetic Style in Fine and Decorative Arts"
  • Development of a mini-exhibition for Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage 'Round the World, a 1275-foot panorama painting
  • Maintenance and label writing in each of the Museum's eleven galleries
  • Writing and editing captions for the new book Treasures of the Whaling Museum: Touchstones to the Region's Past
Read a reflection on my time as a curatorial intern at the museum.

Carleton College History Department

I combined my work as a Writing Consultant, my museum experience, and my training as a historian to deliver unique support to a Carleton history professor as a Student Exhibition Assistant. I coordinated an exhibition exploring word and image in medieval manuscripts; assisted with designing, writing, curating, and installing the exhibition; and led a class session about producing effective exhibition narratives.

I presented a paper on my work as a Student Exhibition Assistant at the International Writing Centers Association Conference in October 2014. 
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​National Museum of American Jewish History

Selected projects:
  • Development of drama curriculum for the exhibition "The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats"
  • Creation of docent scripts for the interpretive program "In Their Shoes," which introduces children to life during the colonial period, westward expansion, and New York City tenements
  • Planning and executing children's and family activities at the museum, collaborating with museum educators and administrators, and working with visiting school groups
My experiences as an education intern at NMAJH prepared me to tell Jewish stories in my current role at the Institute of Southern Jewish Life.
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Mercer Museum & Library and Fonthill Castle

As an archival intern at the Spruance Library at the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, I spent the summer of 2013 developing an over-100 page research guide​ for the Library's collection of Bucks County Courthouse records, spanning from the late 1600s to the 1970s.
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This charming font is my actual handwriting!
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  • About
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