Beginner I Yiddish (Early Sunday Afternoon)
Tuition: $480 | YIVO members: $375**
Students: $240 (Must register with valid university email address)
This is a live, online course held weekly on Zoom. Enrollment will be capped at about 15 students. All course details (Zoom link, syllabus, handouts, assignments, etc.) will be posted to Canvas. Students will be granted access to the class on Canvas after registering for the class here on the YIVO website. This class will be conducted in Yiddish and English.
Instructor: Karolina Szymaniak
Who should take this course?
This course is for students who are new to the Yiddish language or would like a review.
What topics will this class cover?
This class will cover the Yiddish alphabet, basic grammar, and vocabulary. Students will learn to use them in everyday contexts. This class harmoniously develops different skills–reading, listening, writing, and speaking on a basic level. It is designed for students who seek an introduction into the world of Yiddish culture, past and present, through a variety of historical and contemporary documents, literary texts, and songs.
Is knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet required?
No, knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet is not required. However, students who have no prior experience with reading and writing the Yiddish or Hebrew alphabets are highly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Yiddish alphabet before class, as the course will move at a fast pace. The tools and videos provided here will be helpful in getting a handle on reading and writing the alef-beys, and are designed for independent use.
Course Materials:
This course will use the textbook In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol I & II by Asya Vaisman Schulman, Jordan Brown, Mikhl Yashinsky (Purchase). The instructor will provide any additional course materials digitally throughout the class on Canvas.
Questions? Read our 2025 Fall Classes FAQ.
Karolina Szymaniak is assistant professor of Yiddish at the Sorbonne University in Paris. Her research interests range across modern Yiddish literature, Polish-Jewish cultural relations, and translation studies. She is also co-founder of the Jewish Arts Institute/Yidisher Kunst-Institut and co-editor-in-chief of East European Jewish Affairs. In addition to having taught Yiddish language and culture throughout Europe, she has also served as a consultant for the POLIN Museum in Warsaw and the Museum of Modern Art in Łódz. Her recent publications include Montages, Debora Vogel and the New Legend of the City, and My wild goat: Anthology of women Yiddish poets (in Polish) and Hasidic Steam Engine and Other stories: Anthology of Yiddish short stories, 16th-21st centuries (in Polish). She is also the editor of Rachel Auerbach's ghetto writings, which received the 2016 Polityka History Award. Her new edition of Auerbach’s wartime and postwar writing is forthcoming in French.
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