YIVO-Bard Summer Program
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Yiddish Civilization Lecture Series, Summer 2023

This lecture series introduces audiences to some of the breadth and depth of Yiddish civilization in Eastern Europe, New York, and around the world. In 2023, lectures were held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from June 22 to July 25, covering topics ranging from history and historiography to literature, poetry, folklore, and theater, and featuring some of the field’s leading scholars: Kenneth B. Moss, Daniela Smolov Levy, Marion Aptroot, Jonathan Boyarin, Glenn Dynner, Chaya Nove, Avi Blitz, Miriam Trinh, and Shachar Pinsker.

Watch the lectures


Yiddishism and Humanism in the Twentieth Century

Thursday, June 22, 2023 | 2:00pm-3:00pm ET
Kenneth B. Moss | Delivered in Yiddish | Learn more »


Who Says Opera Is Always Long? Opera Excerpts for Yiddish Speakers in Early Twentieth-Century America

Tuesday, June 27, 2023 | 2:00pm-3:00pm ET
Daniela Smolov Levy | Delivered in English | Learn more »


Libes briv (18th C.): Isaac Wetzlar’s Call for Reform of Jewish Society and Education

POSTPONED | Thursday, June 29, 2023 | 2:00pm-3:00pm ET
Marion Aptroot | Delivered in Yiddish | Learn more »


Tuesday, July 4, 2023 | NO LECTURE


Reb Zalmen, or The Aleksanderer Shtibl in Warsaw

Thursday, July 6, 2023 | 2:00pm-3:00pm ET
Jonathan Boyarin | Delivered in Yiddish | Learn more »


The Hasidic Revival on the Eve of the Holocaust

Tuesday, July 11, 2023 | 2:00pm-3:00pm ET
Glenn Dynner | Delivered in English | Learn more »


Between Tradition and Trend: Popular Culture and Language Use among American Hasidim

Thursday, July 13, 2023 | 2:00pm-3:00pm ET
Chaya Nove | Delivered in Yiddish | Learn more »


The Tsenerene: The Most Popular Yiddish Book in History

Tuesday, July 18, 2023 | 2:00pm-3:00pm ET
Avi Blitz | Delivered in English | Learn more »


When Yiddish was Young in Israel

Tuesday, July 25, 2023 | 2:00pm-3:00pm ET
Shachar Pinsker | Delivered in English | Learn more »


Chaim Grade’s Two Faces - Poetry and Prose

Thursday, July 27, 2023 | 2:00pm-3:00pm ET
Miriam Trinh | Delivered in Yiddish | Learn more »