2024 Online Course Listings
Language & Literature Classes
Language & Literature classes meet Monday through Friday, 9:50am-11:10am (ET) / 11:40am-1:00pm (ET).
BEGINNER YIDDISH LANGUAGE (Online)
Nina Warnke
This course is for students who have a basic familiarity with reading and writing the alphabet and spelling conventions of Yiddish. The course will introduce students to a wide variety of everyday vocabulary (including family, professions, telling time, food, clothes, home and leisure time activities). It will cover the foundational grammatical patterns such as cases; present, past, and future tenses; constructions with modal verbs; forms of negation; prepositions; adjective forms in all three cases; word order; and dependent clauses. The course will work with both volumes of In eynem.
Students will engage in extensive speaking, writing, reading and listening activities and are expected to do daily written homework.
MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE:
In eynem, Volumes I & II. Additional materials will be made available by the instructor.
DICTIONARIES:
Required: Bochner/Beinfeld, Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary (verterbukh.org) and Schaechter-Viswanath/Glasser, Comprehensive English-Yiddish Dictionary (englishyiddishdictionary.com). (Students will have free digital access to both for the duration of the program.)
BEGINNER YIDDISH LITERATURE (Online)
Vera Szabó
In this course, students will build vocabulary and develop their reading, writing and comprehension skills. They will be introduced to modern Yiddish culture and literature by reading and discussing texts from various genres: readings from school textbooks, folktales, poetry, songs and short stories. Audio and video recordings will enhance the learning process. In addition to the course pack, material will be posted in Canvas.
Students are expected to download and print the course pack and all other texts, prepare the readings before class, read out loud and discuss the texts during class sessions. Written homework will also be assigned. Attendance and participation are essential.
MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE:
Course packet compiled by the instructor (students will have free digital access).
INTERMEDIATE YIDDISH LANGUAGE (Online)
Sharon Bar-Kochva
In this course students will broaden and strengthen their language skills, combining theoretical grammar explanations with practical use of Yiddish (both oral and written). The primary goal will be to boost self-assurance during reading, listening and self-expression in Yiddish.
The class will utilize a large variety of pedagogical tools such as conventional exercises, fun group games, audio and video materials, language riddles and fragments of literary and journalistic texts.
In order to enable the participants to continue working on their own after the course, students will learn how to use available online resources efficiently and correctly and a range of course work and homework will focus on that.
The themes handled will be adapted according to the needs and interests of the participants. They will include: basic and advanced verbal structures; affirmative, interrogative and conditional phrases; correct use of prepositions; idiosyncrasies of Loshn-koydesh-origin material in Yiddish.
MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE:
Course packet compiled by the instructor (students will have free digital access).
INTERMEDIATE YIDDISH LITERATURE (Online)
Tal Hever-Chybowski
In this course, students will explore a diverse array of Yiddish literary works, including jokes, proverbs, folk songs, poems, short stories and essays. The primary focus will be on the themes of knowledge and understanding: What do we know? What don't we know? And most importantly, what don't we know that we don't know? Through the readings, the class will reflect on the role of knowledge in Yiddish literature, considering themes like education, literacy, ignorance, or the extent of Loshn-koydesh familiarity among Yiddish speakers.
Students will also introspect on their own knowledge regarding Yiddish: What do we truly know? What do we aspire to learn? What purposes does our knowledge serve? How does the knowledge we possess shape our worldview of Yiddish?
This course aims to enhance all aspects of students' Yiddish proficiency, including speaking, reading, and writing. Active participation is encouraged, with students expected to form and share their opinions in Yiddish. The final grade will be based on class participation, an oral presentation, and a brief written essay.
MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE:
A course pack of literary texts, curated by the instructor, will be provided to all students for free digital access.
ADVANCED YIDDISH LANGUAGE (Online)
Sharon Bar-Kochva
In this course students will broaden and strengthen their language skills, combining theoretical grammar explanations with practical use of Yiddish (both oral and written). The primary goal will be to boost self-assurance during reading, listening and self-expression in Yiddish.
The class will utilize a large variety of pedagogical tools such as conventional exercises, fun group games, audio and video materials, language riddles and fragments of literary and journalistic texts.
In order to enable the participants to continue working on their own after the course, students will learn how to use available online resources efficiently and correctly and a range of course work and homework will focus on that.
The themes handled will be adapted according to the needs and interests of the participants. They will include: separable and inseparable verbal prefixes, issues of word order, prepositions and conjunctions, as well as idiomatic expressions.
MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE:
Course packet compiled by the instructor (students will have free digital access).
ADVANCED YIDDISH LITERATURE (Online)
Tal Hever-Chybowski
How do we critically read a text? What does it mean to read a text critically, and what do we gain from doing so? In this course, students will explore a wide range of Yiddish literary texts, both prose and poetry, and examine how these can be read critically.
The class will also read and discuss advanced Yiddish literary works that are inherently critical. What makes these texts critical, and how can we engage with them using our own critical perspectives?
Some texts will receive particularly attentive close reading, always informed by an examination of their historical and cultural contexts, as well as the contexts of reading them today. Students will rediscover Yiddish classical texts with a critical eye and explore lesser-known critical works that challenged the worldviews of their contemporaries and discuss whether they continue to present a critical perspective to present-day readers.
This course is designed to improve students' Yiddish reading, speaking, and writing skills. Students are especially encouraged to practice constructing arguments—both orally and in writing—in a manner that is clear and concise. The final grade will be based on class participation, an oral presentation, and a written essay.
MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE:
A course pack of literary texts, compiled by the instructor, will be provided to all students for free digital access.
History & Culture Seminars
HASIDISM AND YIDDISH CULTURE (Online)
Marc Caplan
Mondays & Wednesdays | 3:15pm-4:15pm (ET)
Class will be conducted in English, with some readings available in Yiddish.
The most important religious phenomenon in modern Jewish culture of Eastern Europe has been the development of Hasidism, a movement that began within a small, dissident community of religious mystics during the last third of the eighteenth century, but came to become the dominant religious, social, and economic force among Eastern European Jews by the 1830s. Hasidic culture in the nineteenth century was almost entirely coterminous with Yiddish culture. Today, in the United States, Canada, Israel, Western Europe, and Australia, Hasidism is the dominant religious and social force among ultra-orthodox Jews, and present-day Yiddish language maintenance is most closely associated with Hasidic communities. This course will focus on the way that Hasidic thought and Yiddish culture have interacted with one another through classic works of Yiddish literature. Our course will begin with the hagiographical stories told about the Baal Shem Tov, Hasidism's semi-legendary "founder," and will continue with the bizarrely original stories told by the Baal Shem Tov's great-grandson, Reb Nakhmen of Bratslav. Thereafter we will consider the significance of anti-Hasidic polemics and parodies from the Haskole (the "Jewish Enlightenment") and consider how the reaction against Hasidism was a significant factor in the creation of a modern, supposedly secular Yiddish literature. Following the anti-Hasidic phase of the Haskole, we will consider how Y.L. Peretz and his followers adopted and adapted themes from Hasidic culture to create a neo-Romantic, culturally nationalistic Yiddish literature, which in turn influenced the development of twentieth-century modernism among figures that include Esther Singer Kreitman, her younger brother Isaac Bashevis Singer, Moyshe Kulbak, Dovid Bergelson and Yankev Glatstein. Although readings will be available in both Yiddish and English, class discussions will take place primarily in English.
Electives
DECIPHERING HANDWRITTEN YIDDISH DOCUMENTS (Online)
Eliezer Niborski
Mondays | 4:30pm-5:30pm (ET) | June 24; July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Class will be conducted in Yiddish. For students at the Program’s higher levels.
דעשיפֿרירן ייִדישע כּתבֿ־ידן
אליעזר ניבאָרסקי
במשך די זעקס באַגעגענישן וועלן מיר באַטראַכטן געשריבענע דאָקומענטן פֿון פֿאַרשיידענע צײַטן און סבֿיבֿות. דורכן דערקענען און באַשרײַבן אַ ריי כאַראַקטעריסטישע עלעמענטן אין יעדן טעקסט, וועלן מיר אָנקלײַבן די נייטיקע כּלים און טעכניקעס זיך צו פֿאַרמעסטן מיט אַ ברייטער גאַמע מאַטעריאַלן. דערבײַ וועלן מיר זיך אויך באַקענען מיט עטלעכע גרויסע אַרכיוון וואָס האַלטן זאַמלונגען ייִדישע כּתבֿ־ידן.
פֿון איין וואָך אויף דער צווייטער וועלן די אָנטייל־נעמער קריגן פֿאַרשיידענע פּראַקטיציר־ און צוגרייט־געניטונגען.
סטודענטן וואָס האָבן בײַ זיך געשריבענע דאָקומענטן מיט אַ היסטאָרישן, ליטעראַרישן, צי אַפֿילו משפּחהדיקן אינטערעס און זענען בעלנים זיי צו באַאַרבעטן בחבֿרותא ווערן געמוטיקט זיך צו ווענדן מיט זיי צום לערער אין די ערשטע צוויי וואָכן פֿונעם קורס.
דער וואַרשטאַט ווערט געפֿירט נאָר אויף ייִדיש. ער איז פֿאָרויסגעזען פֿאַר סטודענטן פֿון די העכערע מדרגות, אָבער סטודענטן פֿון די מיטעלע קורסן מיט אַ שטאַרקער מאָטיווירונג מעגן אויך בײַזײַן און מיטהאַלטן.
IDEOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AT THE FORWARD (Online)
Gennady Estraikh
Tuesdays | 4:30pm-5:30pm (ET) | June 25; July 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Class will be conducted in Yiddish. For students in the Advanced classes.
אידעאָלאָגישע אַנטװיקלונג בײַם פֿאָרװערטס
פּראָפֿ' גענאַדי עסטרײַך
די הויפּטטעמע פֿון דעם קורס װעט זײַן דער איבערגאַנג פֿון פֿאָרװערטס פֿון אַ סאָציאַליסטישער צײַטונג, געבויט אויפֿן שטייגער פֿון דער דײַטשישער סאָציאַל־דעמאָקראַטישער פּאַרטיי, אויף אַ ליבעראַל קאָנסערװאַטיװער פּובליקאַציע. דאָס װעלן מיר באַטראַכטן אויפֿן סמך פֿון אַ צאָל װיכטיקע פּערזענלעכקייטן אין דער געשיכטע פֿון דער צײַטונג: אַב. כּהן; ב. וולאַדעק און רפֿאל אַבראַמאָוויטש; שלום אַש; דוד בערגעלסאָן און י.־י. זינגער; מאַקס ווײַנרײַך; יעקב לעשטשינסקי.
RESEARCH METHODS WITH YIVO ARCHIVISTS (Online)
Hallel Yadin & Ruby Landau-Pincus
Wednesdays | 4:30pm-5:30pm (ET) | June 26; July 3, 10
Class will be conducted in English.
Archival Research at the YIVO Institute (Hallel Yadin)
This session will cover how to effectively navigate the YIVO Archives and Library. We will discuss the scope of the collections, optimizing catalog searches, accessing digitized materials for remote research and the types of research assistance YIVO offers.
Online Tools for Yiddish Research (Ruby Landau-Pincus)
This session will introduce useful research tools, resources and reference sources. The emphasis will be on sources that complement and help to contextualize materials found in the YIVO Archives.
Case Studies in YIVO Archives Research (Hallel Yadin & Ruby Landau-Pincus)
This session will use actual inquiries from YIVO patrons to discuss the research process. Elective participants will be invited to submit their own research questions to be covered during the session.
HOW TO SURVIVE ANOTHER YEAR (Online)
Vi azoy tsu derlebn nokh a yor
Eve Jochnowitz
Wednesdays | 4:30pm-5:30pm (ET) | July 17, 24, 31
Class will be conducted in Yiddish.
The Days of Awe are filled with anxiety, and comforting foods are needed now more than ever. The Gemore specifies five foods for the first night of the Jewish New Year, and Yiddish tradition has enhanced and elaborated the list. In this hands-on workshop we will learn about the meanings and recipes of the Jewish dishes that will ensure the most auspicious possible beginning for a blessed year, with special attention given to accommodating vegan and gluten-free diets.
A WORLD OF YIDDISH SONG (Online and In-person)
Lorin Sklamberg, Eléonore Biezunski and special guests
Fridays | 3:15pm-4:15pm (ET) | June 28; July 5, 12, 19, 26
Class will be conducted in English.
Join Lorin Sklamberg and Eléonore Biezunski of YIVO’s renowned Sound Archive, as well as special guest presenters, to be immersed in the world of Yiddish song. In addition to traditional material from the collections of folklorist Ruth Rubin and YIVO’s newly digitized Yiddish Folksong Project of the 1970s, the class will explore the rhymes of Jewish folk bards, the ecstasy of Hasidic chant, intimate love poetry, European cabaret and contemporary hymns of protest. Various songs of love and loss, work and struggle, the innocence of childhood and spiritual joy will be illustrated by rare source recordings drawn from YIVO’s Max and Frieda Weinstein Archive of YIVO Sound Recordings. Song texts will be provided in Yiddish, transliteration, English translation, as well as musical notation when available.