Artistic Creativity

• "Jewish Family Portraits" — Study of the eighteenth-century portraits of the colonial Jewish-American Levy-Franks family (owned by the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville) and production of a creative portrait series of a Jewish-American family in the 21st century
• "Jewish Identity Project: Faces of Judaism in Arkansas" — Photographic exploration of Jewish people statewide and the ties that bind that community (Susan Alman, Fall 2006)

Undergraduate Research

• "Preserving Jewish History in the South" — Student internships with the History Department of the Goldring /Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life
• "Arkansas Jewish History Online" — Research and write entries about Jewish life with Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture
• "Archival Research in Jewish Studies" — Development of a research project to make use of archival or bibliographic material at a center for Jewish Study Special Projects

Global Awareness

• "Jewish Food around the World" — Travel to Jewish communities around the world to learn about Jewish food and how it contributes to Jewish identity
• "Traveling with the Torah" — Travel to trace the places a Torah or religious artifact has belonged and investigation of the history of that object’s journey

Professional and Leadership Development

• "Curating a Jewish Experience" — Student internships with the Museum of Southern Jewish Experience, followed by an on-campus curation of a related exhibit
• "Student-led Seminar and Spertus Institute Visit" — Student-led discussion seminar pertaining to an in-depth visit and attendance at a lecture and/or exhibition at the Spertus Institute in Chicago Service to the World
• "Service and Special Projects" — “Holocaust Sites in Germany and Poland”:  Current Hendrix students Julie Champlin and Lauren Bartshe are putting together an Odyssey proposal to go Germany and Poland over the summer. They will examine descriptions of specific Holocaust sites (buildings, courtyards, pathways, etc.) from the literature and memoirs of Holocaust survivors and then photograph those sites as they appear today. Their goal is to create a photo-essay of the living landscapes where so many died. “The Jeffersonian Kibbutz?  Jewish Agriculture in America”:  Students will study either the history of Jewish-American agriculture or current Jewish-American agriculture.  To facilitate their understanding of agriculture, they will volunteer at Heifer International’s Ranch or on a Kibbutz in Israel.  They will use their hands-on agricultural experience to consider the aspect of Jewish-American agriculture they have chosen to investigate. They will then devise an appropriate informational and/or creative method of presenting the results of their experiences.

Service to the World

• "Jewish Education Initiative" — Design and implementation of programs to educate elementary and secondary school teachers about Judaism and Jewish history and culture, aided by resources found at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies and similar institutions
• "Promotion of Diversity" — Design workshops, with the assistance of Just Communities of Central Arkansas to promote discussion of diversity among students at Hendrix, in Arkansas or at other Associated Colleges of the South schools

Special Projects

• "Holocaust Sites in Germany and Poland" — Travel to Germany and Poland to study descriptions of specific Holocaust sites (Julie Champlin and Lauren Bartshe, proposed Summer 2008)
• "The Jeffersonian Kibbutz? Jewish Agriculture in America" — Study of the Jewish-American agricultural experience alongside volunteer work at Heifer Ranch or on a Kibbutz in Israel

The Center will serve as an informational resource for students interested in pursuing Odyssey projects related to Jewish Life in the South.