YIVO-Bard Summer Program
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Through our programs, YIVO makes discoveries and treasures from our collections accessible and fosters the creation of contemporary Jewish culture. Explore our upcoming events below.

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Show:       
Monday
Dec 2
1:00pm

Yiddish Language During the Holocaust

Through the lenses of cultural history, philology, and literary interpretation, Hannah Pollin-Galay investigates how the Holocaust radically altered the way many Eastern European Jews spoke Yiddish, in a discussion led by Samuel Kassow.

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Wednesday
Dec 4
7:00pm

Joseph Brodsky: Epitaph for a Centaur, Six Years Later

Join YIVO for a screening of a short film exploring the poet Joseph Brodsky’s Jewish identity, his legacy, and the political undertones of his writing.

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Thursday
Dec 5
7:00pm

Proof of Identity

This US premiere of the POLIN Museum’s new documentary by MikoĊ‚aj Grynberg offers viewers a glimpse into what it means to be a Polish Jew today. Through interviews with the generation that has had no direct contact with the Holocaust survivors in their families, Grynberg’s film reflects on how Holocaust memory has evolved in Poland.

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Tuesday
Dec 10
7:00pm

Burning Off the Page

Join YIVO for the New York premiere of a documentary about Yiddish poet and fiction writer Celia Dropkin, followed by a discussion with filmmaker Eli Gorn, professor Agnieszka Legutko, and poet Edward Hirsch.

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Sunday
Dec 15
2:00pm

Genealogical Research at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research

YIVO archivist Hallel Yadin will review the different kinds of documents available at YIVO, including pre-war community records, immigration case files, yizkor books, landsmanshaftn records, and more.

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Thursday
Dec 19
7:00pm

A Very Jewish Christmas: Jewish Sitcom Characters Navigate December

Jennifer Caplan explores several examples of Jewish television characters attempting to survive the holiday season. A kosher Chinese food dinner will follow the presentation.

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Sunday
Dec 29
3:00pm

Hanukkah Concert 2024 - The Andy Statman Trio

This annual Hanukkah concert showcases songs and stories that charm and delight audiences in celebration of this joyous holiday. This year's concert will feature a performance by The Andy Statman Trio.

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Wednesday
Jan 15
1:00pm

On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice

Adam Kirsch shows how the concept of settler colonialism emerged in the context of North American and Australian history and how it is being applied to Israel today.

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Wednesday
Jan 22
1:00pm

Autocracies in the 21st Century

For the 2025 Winter Program Keynote, Anne Applebaum and Jonathan Brent discuss how autocracies have evolved in the 21st century.

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Wednesday
Feb 19
1:00pm

The YIVO Library in New York: Personal Reflections on Its History and Collections

Zachary M. Baker offers personal reflections on the legacy of the YIVO Library, focusing on its collections and leading personalities after its move to New York City in 1940.

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Monday
Mar 10
1:00pm

Yiddish Tangos and Klezmer Mambos

Join YIVO for a panel discussion with Ronald Robboy, Sonia Gollance, and Josh Kun, as they explore the remarkable influence of Latin American music and dance on the culture of Yiddish speaking communities in the United States.

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Thursday
Apr 24
1:00pm

The YIVO Sound Archive and the Klezmer Revival

YIVO sound archivist Eléonore Biezunski tells the story of the Max and Frieda Weinstein Archive of YIVO Sound Recordings in relation to the revitalization of klezmer music since the mid-1970s.

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Thursday
May 1
7:00pm

Falafel, Freilach and Frijoles: From Mambo to Borscht

Enjoy a concert performed by Arturo O’Farrill and his Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra featuring Jewish and Yiddish classics in Afro Latin big band versions and Latin classics in Klezmer arrangements.

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Monday
May 19
1:00pm

The Making of a Historian of East European Jewry and the Holocaust: Lucy S. Dawidowicz and the YIVO in Vilna, New York, and Offenbach

This talk by Nancy Sinkoff will explore the influence of the YIVO on Lucy S. Dawidowicz (1915-1990), a postwar American Jewish public intellectual and historian, who was central to the field that is now called “Holocaust Studies.” 

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Wednesday
Jun 11
1:00pm

New Trends in YIVO Scholarship

Join YIVO for a panel discussion sharing new research on various historic YIVO initiatives featuring presentations by William Pimlott, Kamil Kijek, and Nicolas Vallois, followed by a conversation led by Jessica Kirzane.

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Jun 22 7:00pm-9:30pm and Jun 23 10:00am-9:30pm

YIVO in America

Join us for a celebration of YIVO’s 100th anniversary with a conference focusing on how YIVO’s founding vision for Jewish social sciences has been realized in America since its headquarters shifted to New York City in 1940.

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