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Joan and Stanford Alexander South Texas Jewish Archives Records

 Collection
Identifier: MS 874
Finding aid note: Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Scope and Contents

Correspondence, meeting notes, publicity materials such as event flyers and a brochure, newsletters, and news clippings document the founding of the Houston Jewish History Archive (HJHA) and the activities the group has undertaken since its founding in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Of particular interest is a document from the Jewish Studies Program at Rice University outlining the beginning of the HJHA and numerous news clippings recording the damages caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston's Jewish community and the actions taken by the HJHA to save materials after the storm. HJHA officially changed its name to the Joan and Stanford Alexander South Texas Jewish Archives in January 2023.

Dates

  • 2017 - 2023

Conditions Governing Access

The material is open for research.

Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from the Joan and Stanford Alexander South Texas Jewish Archives Records must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library.

The Woodson Research Center use policy is that researchers assume sole responsibility for any infringement of privacy, literary rights, copyrights, or other rights arising from their use of the archival materials. In addition to any restrictions placed by donors, certain kinds of archival materials are restricted for the life of the creator plus 50 years. These materials include, but are not limited to, student grades, transcripts, and any job applications or recommendations.

Biographical / Historical

The archive was founded as a reaction to Hurricane Harvey in 2017, out of the urgent need to rescue documents and other priceless historical materials related to Jewish life in Houston that were endangered by the flood. Over time, this project developed into a much broader effort: an endeavor to safeguard the legacy of Jews in South Texas and to make the archival records available to the public for research, learning, and enjoyment. The mission of the Joan and Stanford Alexander South Texas Jewish Archives (STJA) is to collect, preserve, and make accessible the documents, photographs, artifacts, and memories that tell the story of Jewish life in Greater Houston and South Texas.

The STJA is a collaborative effort between Rice University's Program in Jewish Studies and the Woodson Research Center (WRC) in the Fondren Library, where the archive is housed.

Dr. Joshua Furman is the founding director of the HJHA/STJA at Rice. A native Texan, Dr. Furman grew up in San Antonio. He received his Ph.D in modern Jewish history. from the University of Maryland in 2015. At Rice, Dr. Furman offers courses on Texas Jewish history, the American Jewish immigrant experience, African-American Jewish relations, and Jewish food traditions. Dr. Furman left Rice in 2023, and Melissa Cohen-Nickels became the new curator of STJA in February 2024.

Excerpted from: https://jewishstudies.rice.edu/houston-jewish-history-archive

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

This collection consists of correspondence, publicity materials, a statement about the founding of the Joan and Stanford Alexander South Texas Jewish Archives, formerly known as the Houston Jewish History Archive (HJHA), meeting materials, newsletters, and news clippings that feature the work the STJA is doing to preserve materials belonging to individuals and synagogues in the Houston Jewish community following the damage wrought by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Arrangement

The materials in this collection have been arranged in one series as follows:

Series I: General

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Material collected and donated by Dr. Josh Furman and staff of the WRC beginning in 2017.

Subjects

Record Groups

Related Names

Source

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Joan and Stanford Alexander South Texas Jewish Archives Records, 2017-2018
Status
Completed
Author
Traci Patterson
Date
2019-07-11
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

https://library.rice.edu/woodson
Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA

Broaden your search:
Texas Archival Resources Online - statewide search of archival finding aids
ArchiveGrid - international search of archival finding aids
Scholarship.rice.edu - Rice University digital content

Harmful Content Statement
© 2023 Woodson Research Center
Fondren Library, Rice University
Physical Address: 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892